Snakeasaur Saga - The Quest For Harmony
by Tyraka628
Summary: In a world of magic and peace, where Dragons are but monsters that people fear, a group of friends discover that there's more than one kind of dragon out there. Now, with the help of their newest draconic companion Spyro, the Mane Six uncover an ancient prophecy in the making and begin an adventure through life and Equestria unlike any they ever seen before. Now on Fimfiction.
1. Prologue

Earth...was dead.

The once beautiful world of life and promise...gone.

For good.

_The _Earth, that little blue planet, that was once the birth-world and foundation of the famed human race, had been completely and utterly destroyed in the hellish wrath of fire, poison, and fear, along with every single bit of life that had once stretched across its surface; it had been killed off like a mighty tree succumbing to a deadly poison, and then burned to a withered, blackened skeleton by a mighty fire, and with it all the fruits of life that grew from its once mighty branches, before they even had a chance to harvest their seeds to the universe.

The planet was indeed a dead shell of its former self: the once beautiful oceans were now one thick, oozing, stagnant, black pool of decay and poison, the water now resembling the thickest, darkest, and most putrid tar, the surface littered with the poisoned, rotting bodies of every living organism of the oceans; billions upon billions of their bloated, decaying corpses dissolving in the acidic gunk now almost every inch of the planet's waters, the layer of dead and rot spreading for thousand of miles, to and far beyond the darkened horizon. The skies were pitch-black, the atmosphere choked by the clouds of other-worldly smoke and smog; all light from the sun and stars had been completely cut off by the storm of death raging above, leaving the world in complete darkness...minus the flashes of red and white, cause by the Hell Lightning blazing through the sky, sending flashes of crimson and thunderous explosions across the land.

Another source of light were the fires blazing across the twisted, crushed landscape, the continents now no longer their original shapes or sizes in any way imaginable. A massive cliff of crumbling rock and dirt was all that remained of Europe and its surrounding land masses, all of which lay in giant heaps of crushed stone at the bottom of the black ocean. Africa had been turned into one massive crater stretching almost the entire half of the lower hemisphere, with a great mountain range three times as tall as Everest in places being the only barrier between the black sludge of the sea and the lake of molten rock filling up the crater from within the broken planet. North and South America had been smashed together, with South America shoved upwards from below and smashed against the underside of it's northern twin, which in turn forced it to smash and fuse into Asia. Add a broken Australia in the center of the mix and the continents were now a twisted version of the giant landmass they once were at their creation, with a few chunks of islands and land masses scattered about.

The surface of the world was the worst of all: the landscape had once been an entire treasure trove of both varied ecological habitats and environments, as well as great civilizations and empires of nearly unlimited cultures and lifestyles, all of which were now burned to the ground. the plentiful forests and jungles of all kinds were now little more than miles upon miles of ash and death, the great tundras and the Polar Caps were now no longer existent, and the mountain ranges and plains were either transformed into their opposites by great tectonic forces, or completely obliterated all together. The only ecosystem that remained the same were the desert, since they were already lifeless wastelands to begin with. One thing they all had in common, though, as the worst fact: _every single spark _of life that once thrived throughout the world, even bacteria, had been banished into extinction.

Then a single light suddenly shone through the darkness.

The cracked, flaky streets remained undisturbed beneath her glowing, crystalline hooves as she silently landed in the ruined city, the godly glow of her horn matching the color of her snow-white fur, lighting her way through the darkened world. Her sapphire-blue eyes gazed sadly upon the dead buildings before her as the ash gently fell from the sky like snow, covering the dry, rocky concrete in a blanket of grey, while the hot, dry winds blew it forward, also catching her long, rusty-red mane and tail, causing them to gently whip in the breeze; such a fate was too terrible to imagine...but when she heard the news, well...she just had to come.

This world...these people...she couldn't believe they were all gone. She had been here many times in the past when she was younger, usually in secret, just to watch the humans live their mortal lives and advance to new horizons; her most recent visit was that she made a few centuries ago, back when this particular continent had just been discovered by explorers from across the sea; a very brave feat for a mortal race, to cross an ocean with no knowledge of what was on the other side. Most of her kind stayed clear of the humans due to reasons between them, and the ancestors of mortal man; no doubt her mother would've be livid if she had found out about her little adventures, and to face the wrath of an angry goddess, even one of maternal anger, was a frightening thought.

And it was thanks to her own Godhood that was the only reason she wasn't joining them in death.

Even as the stood there, looking about at all the destruction around her, she could feel the darkness fighting back against her light. The shadows around the dead, ash covered trees were not normal shadows; she could feel the fiery, consuming anger, and the cold, bitter hatred flowing through them, clawing at her, trying to end her life as well. It was only by her light and immortality that allowed her to shield herself from their wrath; any mortal being that dared to enter this world in the future will be consumed by the shaded fires, and their very souls would die.

The one who did this made sure that earth, and humankind itself, would _never _return.

But a mere year ago, if you had told humans of what was to come, they probably would've laughed at the idea before going about their normal lives. The planet's main and only sapient race, Human Beings, the mortal descendants of the ancient and legendary Starukians, were one of the first mortal races to come into existence; in their prime, humans numbered at _seven-to-eight billion_, and forged many civilizations of the like the universe would never see again. Thus they were the example of foundation of many younger races throughout the cosmos; there isn't a race younger than human beings that did _not _possess something in their civilization or culture that didn't mirror something within humanity.

Humans weren't perfect: they had flaws, and a track record most would steer clear of...but no race is perfect; that's what makes Soul Bearers what they are, and what humans lacked in perfection they made up for with their great potential: to do many great things, and to bring great wonder to the universe.

Then _He _came.

Mankind may have been one of the first races, but they were not _the _first; that honor went to the Dragons (or Dovah, in their tongue). Those great, eternal, reptilian monsters of fire, power, and greed, who's kind had spread fear throughout the universes, even to the gods themselves, had been around to see the birth and death of many worlds before Earth, and will be around to see the end of this universe and many more to come. They cared not for the other races that had been born amidst their carnage; all 'mortals' were nothing but insects under their feet, food to fill their bellies, or at best subjects to 'give them their well-deserved praise' and to dig up and purify the gold and jewels that they lusted for.

And just as humans had descended from a greater ancestor, dragons, too, had been born from a race even greater than they; the same that their animalistic kin, the Dinosaurs, also descended from. Long before the Reign of Gods, long before even the age of the mighty reptiles, even before Earth existed and mortals lived, Existence was ruled by the ancestors of dragons:

The Vidovahrah, which translates into 'Serpent-Dragon-God'.

They were to Gods and other deities what normal dragons were to mortal races: the great godly beasts flew through the galaxies and space as if it were merely the skies, the planets lands full of food and treasure. Their hoards filled entire moons, and their great battles would wipe out entire solar systems in their wake. Entire worlds full of living souls...mere dirt under their feet...wiped out without even being acknowledged...over matters between gods with the minds of animals.

But even the greatest of creatures fall to the ravages of time, and just like their dinosaurian descendants, the mighty Vidovahrah eventually lost their place as the rulers of the universes and vanished into Extinction.

Without the great beasts around to threaten it, Life blossomed throughout the cosmos, whether it evolved over billions of years on its own, or were created by the higher beings that survived through reign of the great titans to see the dawn of this new age. And soon, after many millennia, the Vidovahrah faded into legends and myth, long gone and dead.

All but one.

Many amongst the deitic races have debated on how he survived what his race did not: the most likely theory is that his parents must've nested and laid his egg on a planet within a time rip which preserved it long enough to hatch into mortal day...but the most-believed theory that he had been alive all this time, surviving what his ancestors did not. It isn't that unbelievable, given the creature's sheer power: far greater than any other Vidovahrah ever known, as if he was all the Vidovahrah before forged into one great being!

A God amongst Gods.

Power Incarnate.

The Teeth of Fire.

The Primal God of Power.

Destroyer of Deities.

Heaven's Bane/Hell's Wrath.

Death.

He has been called all these and more...but the one name that stands out amongst all other is the one he calls himself by: a simple mortal's name, but one that had become feared throughout the cosmos.

Tyrone.

Tyrone the Vidovahrah...or, as the mortal translation will soon come to call it...Tyrone the Snakeasaurus.

In the blink of an eye he came out of nowhere, the power that was merely flowing from his skin twisting the very forces of Physics, Reality, and even Good-and-Evil around him. Before the people of Earth could even blink, he came _blazing _down from the heavens in a great, destructive wave of fire, poison, and death, roaring in an unbridled _rage _that no mortal should ever even _see_, let alone feel for themselves. He twisted the very of the planet with his power, forcing the land and seas themselves to fight against the mortals under his feet, creating a hellish landscape which not even the most resilient could survive, and did all in his power to wipe out everything that had, despite the odds. The humans, confident in their strength, united together to counter the beast's attacks with their own weapons of poisonous fire...but not even that even _harmed _the great Tyrone, for only the weapons of gods could stand against the Snakeasaurus. It became even worse when the rest of dragon-kind joined him in his rampage, descending upon mankind in by the millions, eager to forever destroy and reap vengeance upon the race that had been a thorn in their side for too long.

Mankind fought to their last breath, but the fires of their enemy's rage and the shadows of his evil swallowed them and their entire world into eternal fire and shadow. And in a year's time, what took over 2,000,000 years to create was extinguished for eternity.

The only thing on this world that had been spared was the treasure: the gold, jewels, and other precious things of the earth that had been torn from its hold, no doubt added to the sea of riches made by the wealth stolen from countless other worlds that had suffered from his wrath. If that wretched beast wasn't still here on earth, then he was no doubt rolling around in his newly-stolen treasure, like a sow wallowing through its own filth.

Dovah, gods or not...monsters to the very core.

A deep sigh escaped Faust's lips as she bowed her head in sadness. She could see them before her: the twisted, charred bodies and skeletons of his victims littered the streets before her in the _thousands_; they had all been going about their normal lives before the first strike, and in that one moment before their death, all differences were forgotten in a common goal they all shared: to live, even by just running.

She had better leave; she had been gone long enough as it was, and the other deities were probably looking for her at this very moment. Besides, there were other worlds out there to worry about. Nothing to gain from crying over dead bodies.

And she had business elsewhere.

This day may have seen the end of one race...but in their wake, it would see the birth of another.

* * *

Deep within the cosmos, in another universe away from earth, floated a single world amongst the stars. The planet was the same size as earth, as it had been forged in its likeness, and it orbited around a sun just as earth had, an accompanying moon following nearby; it was, by all means, another earth...except for its barren surface.

Unlike earth, which did have life at one time, this world never had living beings to support to begin with: while it did have breathable air, life never bloomed on this lonely little planet; whether it had been forsaken by the deities of other realms, or unable to evolve life on its own, it remained an empty husk. The great canyons that could've been the deep oceans were just as dry and bear as the rest of the world, and the sky was just as empty, not a single cloud or drop of humidity to be seen or felt. By all means, it was a lifeless mockery of the planet it had formed after.

It was perfect.

On the surface of the world, in the middle of a deep, wide valley, a tear through time and space split the air near the valley's ground; through it, for a moment, the horror that befell Earth could be seen, but Faust made that moment brief as she quickly soared through, her four wings shimmering like waves of heavenly aura, and her hooves touched the dirt beneath her just as the portal behind her sealed shut and vanished with a flash of light and clasp of thunder. A harsh wind blew into the planet through the portal just before it closed, bringing with it a brief flurry of ash and soot, which settled lifelessly onto the planet with the wind gone.

As the thunderous boom echoed in the distance, the white alicorn merely stood there and quietly observed the barren landscape before her. The night sky above her was filled with an ocean of stars, giving an almost alien beauty to the land; it was almost as beautiful as the night skies of the Elysium Fields, the ancient home realm of the Alicorns.

Yes...those were truly golden years for her kind. She was but a filly back then, but she could still remember it all: She was the youngest of three foals born of the High King Omnipoti and High Queen Eqquis, who were said to be the first of the Alicorn Race. Under their rule, her race lived peacefully and happily in the Elysium Fields, a truly beautiful realms of flowing meadows, beautiful forests, peaceful oceans, and mighty mountains. She, along with her brother Solaris and her sister Nocturna, played happily under their watchful parents' eye, and looked forward to a life of peace, safe from the might and wrath of the Vidovahrah, for the great beasts respected the high rulers of the alicorns, and left their home unharmed.

No, their time of peace was destroyed not by the Vidovahrah, but by another race of demonic creatures, one that was hated even more so than the god dragons of old: The Draconequii.

Born from the very essence of chaos and madness, these twisted, insane beings also wielded power of godly strength. While weaker and less feared than the Vidovahrah and Dragons, they were even more despised; whereas the dragons destroyed merely by instincts and ways of life, the Draconequii brought chaos and torment to lesser races for no more than sheer amusement and desire. They enjoyed twisting and permanently corrupting the very fabric of reality just to watch others suffer, and go mad from their chaos...but the races they tormented the most were the alicorns. By nature, the Alicorns and Draconequii were mortal enemies; whereas the alicorns merely wished to live in peace and order, the draconequii desired to tear that peace apart and plunge the Elysium Fields into chaos. At first it was no more than mere conflicts and pranks, but eventually fights became more common and varied; more brutal...and following the murder of Demetra, High Queen of the Forests, the two races plunged into war.

The war was long and brutal, but in the end the Alicorns triumphed, wiping the Draconequii from existence, and cleansing the universe of the chaos they had wrought...but it was a bitter victory: while alive, both Omnipoti and Eqquis were permanently crippled, and the Elysium Fields were destroyed...much like Earth was now.

The alicorns had no choice but to leave their once-beautiful home.

For many centuries the herd roamed the cosmos, searching for a new home...but they would have to search long and hard. With many of the detitic races extinct, the Ethereal Realm was rapidly vanishing, most of the power sources it once maintained itself upon gone, forcing what races remaining to descend to the mortal realm. But even this would prove to be difficult: with both the Vidovahrah and Draconequii gone, life of all kinds and origins were spawning all over the cosmos, filling every inhabitable world and realm conceivable, and the Alicorns would no endanger the lives of other races just for their own ends.

But now, it was _finally _over. After _eight thousand years_, they had found their new home.

They were ready to begin again.

_**KRAC-COOOOOM!**_

The calm night sky exploded in a blaze of white with a thunderous explosion of lightning; were it not for her godhood, Faust would've screamed like a little filly. She turned her gaze skyward to see the once-starry skies fill with a swirling vortex of clouds, lightning blazing forth in multiple directions. Looks like her brethern of the sky were bringing forth the planet's very first rainstorm; a storm that would set in motion the very first beginnings of life on their new little world. Sure enough, the first drops of water to ever touch the soil of this planet began to fall, and were quickly followed by what could only be described as a terrintial downpour.

And she was standing in the middle of it.

With an amused huff, she lit up her horn and cast a barrier of magic over herself; a comforting sound of rain pattering against the arcane energy field was barely audible over the now roaring sound of heavy rain, the once cracked-dry earth quickly turning into mud as it greedily absorbed the water. The alicorn looked about herself she spotted it: a large cave opening up at the base of the mountain in the distance.

Perfect.

* * *

_**KRAC-COOOOOM!**_

Another clap of thunder erupted through the sky just as Faust trudged tiredly into the cave, her mane and coat dripping wet and hanging from her body. The shield she had cast did little to protect from the rain when a large gust of wind had blown in from the north; as she used her magic to wring out her mane, she briefly wondered if that sudden wind had been a prank from one of the weather alicorns. She grinned at the thought, despite herself: they were notorious for being pranksters themselves, if only gentle ones, nothing like those monstrous draconequii.

As she flicked her tail about to rid it of the water, she looked about the cavern she had entered: there was nothing truly impressive about it, other than its height; it was large enough to house a full grown dragon and its hoard, but other than that it was a perfectly normal, ordinary cave, going far back into the mouth in a twisted tunnel. A few stalactites hung from the ceiling and grew from the floor near the walls, which were beginning to moisten and drip from the sudden existence of humidity in the air, creating the silent dripping clinks in what was once a silent cave

_'Not exactly the Throne of the High Alicorns, but at least it's dry.'_ She thought to herself as she laid down on her belly, reaching back to preen her right wing. The ash of earth's ruin had thankfully been washed off in the rain, but a few stray pieces had found their way in her wing feathers, and it nearly made her sudder to think that could very well be the remains of a man on her body.

"You went to Earth, didn't you?"

So alarmed was Faust by the sudden voice that she bit down on her wing hard enough to draw blood; she cried out in pain as she jerked her head back, small streams of the crimson life staining her lips and the snowy-white feathers. She choked back on the pain, turning to see who had spoken...and when she saw her, she nearly choked on her own saliva; there, laying against the wall in the position of a female cat nursing young with her great wings draped against and over her sides, was the leader and creator of Alicornkind herself.

She was the first alicorn to come into existence, and from her power or blood all other alicorns came after her. The sandy-blonde color of her mane and tail were fading from age (the thousands upon thousands of years that she had been alive), as were the tips of her feathers. Her fur still had the light-brown shine that she was well known for. Her four wings and single, curved horn were much larger than those of Faust, and her eyes were a gentle lavender in color.

She, like the mighty Tyrone, went by many names in many tongues, but the one she chose was also a mortal name, given to her by the human girl who cared for her as a filly:

Bonnie.

Simple, and even a bit silly...but she would have no other.

But to Faust, she went by no _name_:

"G-Grandmother!" She stammered in surprise, relaxing from her scare and allowing her wings to fold against her body. "Shouldn't you be back with the herd?"

The goddess known simply as Bonnie merely shook her head, the exhaustion of age clear in her tired movements. "No. This is going to be a very special time for me. I wish to spend it alone: just the two of us, grandmother and granddaughter, undisturbed by the outside..." She told her, her eyes soft as she looked down toward her wing; Faust realized she was shielding something under it, keeping whatever it was safely in her arms, so to speak. She then looked into her granddaughter's eyes, her gaze becoming just a touch colder. "...you went to earth to see what happened to the humans."

Faust didn't even try to lie; she knew better than that. If Bonnie's motherly intuition wouldn't see past it, then her godhood would've. "Yes: after I heard what had happened...well...I just had too."

The older alicorn smiled softly. "Can't say that I blame you, so I won't." She admitted, casting a sadden gaze downwards. "They truly were a good race. I wish we could've done something."

It was that last sentence that made something in Faust finally break; she had seen the carnage of earth for herself, and allowed sorrow, regret, and even guilt to weigh upon her heart...but those last words...that was all it took to break those emotions away, and allow one that had been forced down long enough to finally bubble up to the surface: anger.

"Why _didn't we_?!" She nearly shouted, slamming her hoof against the cave floor; a clap of thunder bellowed from outside, briefly lighting up the cave and revealing the younger alicorn's face twisted in rage and hatred. "Are we not _gods _capable of creating worlds?! Did the very sun and moon of our realm not bow to our very whim?! They were an entire world of innocent beings as well as guilty! Couldn't we have, at the very least, tried to save them if not their entire world?!"

"No. There was nothing we could've done." Bonnie said flatly yet sternly, keeping her voice calm. "If we had interfered, then Tyrone and all of Dovahkind surely would've turned his wrath upon us. Besides, the humans "

_**"DAMN THOSE **_**REPTILES **_**TO **_**TARTARUS**_**!"**_ Faust screamed in rage; the very walls of the cave shook from the sheer volume of her voice, as if trembling in fear of her wrath. _**"MANKIND IS DEAD BECAUSE OF THOSE **_**MONSTERS**_**! WHAT, WERE THE HUMANS NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO EVEN LIVE UNDER THEM?! DAMN THEM ALL! ALL THOSE INNOCENT SOULS, ALL those Living Beings...**__They're gone..._all of them..." She couldn't take it anymore; finally, after she released her anger, were the tears finally able to burst from her eyes as she crumbled to the floor. The mighty goddess, the 'author' of worlds, sobbed openly like a filly, her tears streaming down her cheeks and snout. "...W-Why?"

Bonnie's face remained emotionless, but her eyes softened with pity and sadness of her own. Yes, she knew about her granddaughter's secret trips to earth during her youth, but remained quiet about it; she knew how Faust loved the mortal beings that had once, long ago in the ancient times, had been allies with their own race. Her own daughter and son-in-law had always reprimanded her every time she had been caught sneaking out, for they had never trusted the humans as their daughter did. 'They are dangerous!', they would say; 'humans are monsters', they would say. Perhaps they were during their last moments, but they were not always that way. Bonnie would even question them being evil at all; yes they were dangerous and corruptible, but weren't all races? Even the tamest and friendliest of dogs could still bite, after all.

Faust continued to sob in her misery, with nothing but her grandmother's company to comfort her...that is, until the muffled cries of a child tore through the night. Bonnie turned her gaze down to her side, lifting her wings to soothe the crying creatures underneath, her gentle voice humming a soft lullaby, soothing the crying back into silence...and from underneath her wing shone the soft, pure light of a newly-created soul.

The younger alicorn looked up from the ground, and when she saw what laid at her elder's side, her blood-shot eyes widening in surprise and awe.

There, nestled up against the alicorn's barrel and deep in slumber, were a liter of six newborn fillies and one newborn colt...these foals, however, they were not like any foals she had ever seen before. For one, all seven were perfectly identical in appearance, except for the coloring: each one was one of a seven colors of the rainbow, their manes and tails being a darker shade of said color. Another trait was they didn't have horns or wings; they were 'Equestrian' foals, but the lack of alicorn gifts made her think of the animalistic creatures of earth that humans had tamed as beasts of burden (which some shallow alicorns seemed to use as a excuse to dislike humanity). And finally, as well as most importantly, they lacked the godly aura that all Alicorns possessed; yes, they were glowing with the light of their souls, but it wasn't the same as that of a god.

They were mortal.

Faust was stunned speechless, her eyes wide with wonder at the sight. "Are...are those?" She managed to squeak.

Bonnie smiled cheekily at her daughter's expression. "Yes. Yes, they are." She told her, turning her loving gaze down to the sleeping fillies. "They are the first born of our future race: mortals, just like the humans were."

"Are...are you sure about that? Is that really the wisest thing to do?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not wise, but it's the only choice we have. The alicorns are a dying race, Faust; the mortal realm cannot support us as the Elysium Fields did. We will endure, but all future foals born here wouldn't...so, I've decided to follow in the footsteps of both the Starukians and Vidovahrah: we shall forge for ourselves a mortal race; become less so we can become more."

Faust stared at the infants; one by one they began to wake up, all yawning cutely as they stretched their tiny legs. "They are still plain; un-gifted. Why is that?"

To that question, Bonnie merely smiled warmly at her granddaughter. "That, my dear, is up for you to decide." She said calmly, her tired eyes warm and gentle.

The white alicorn could barely believe her ears, her face and eyes showing her shock and disbelief. Her grandmother had created new life, and had bestowed upon her the honor to forge it. Calmly, if a bit nervously, she looked back at the pile of babies; The orange, blue, and indigo fillies were all pushing and struggling against each other for access to Bonnie's nipples, each of them hungry for the life giving milk within. The red one had crawled over to her creator's tail, giggling happily as she tugged on and played with the aged yet sparkling hair. The yellow and green ones were huddled together for warmth, the former gently licking her sister's ear, making her squirm and giggle, and the purple one, the last...stared up at Faust with wide, awed eyes, her mouth set in a curious 'o'. The two stared at each other in silence for a few moments until the baby inched her way to Faust's chest and, looking up at the larger being in...gently nuzzled her head against the alicorn's chest.

And despite her sorrow, Faust managed a small smile.

"Alright then...I'll do it."

_...Then she blessed each one of the seven ponies with one of the Alicorn's many special gifts; the powers of her kind. The first she blessed was the purple one: the one who had approached her. Her eyes were full of curiosity and hunger for knowledge, ready to see the big, beautiful universe she had been born into: and thus she was blessed with the Gift of Magic, so that she may use it to learn and do more. And at that moment, a small horn poked out from her forehead, while her tail became longer and more lion-like, and her hooves cloven like a deer's. And thus the first Unicorn Pony was born._

_Next she blessed the blue one: this one stood up bravely in front of her creators, chest puffed out bravely and proudly with a sense of childish honor and pride. Faust giggled as she blessed her with the Gift of Flight, so that she could fly to the rescue of her sisters. And from her back grew a tiny pair of feathery, bird-like wings, and from her hips above her tail the tail feathers of a bird, her back, breast, and hips now covered in a feathery down; she changed the most, her bones and muscles shifting and changing so that she would soar like the bird she had become like. And thus the first Pegasus Pony was born._

_Following her was the orange one: she was slightly larger than her sisters, and acted like a bigger sister to them as they played together; kind yet strong, protective yet caring. To her Faust gave the Gift of Earth, to be strong and sturdy for herself and her kind in times of hardship and plenty alike. Her body became larger, stronger, and tougher than the others, her hooves becoming larger, rounded and more solid, like the rest of her; the very soil and rock beneath her tiny hooves seemed to shift and bend to her will, ready to grow for its future tiller. And thus the first Earth Pony was born._

_Next came the green one: this one, however, seemed out of place. The poor, weak creature had a hard time standing on her flimsy legs, as if they and the very ground she stood upon turned against her. So Faust gave her the Gift of Water. The oceans would welcome the pony where the land would not, and she and her kind would forever be at home in their depths. Then and there the filly's hind legs and tail vanished, turning into a single long, fish-like tail, while her fore-hooves shrunk and turned into small fins. She was then placed in a small pool of water near Faust's hooves, where she splashed about and cooed with happiness. And thus the first Sea Pony was born._

_Then Faust turned to the yellow one: the moment she laid eyes on her, the tiny filly cowered against the floor, trembling softly in dread. Faust gave her a warm smile before granted her with the Gift of Nature; she was small and timid, a small, fleeting beauty of the world, just like the creatures that would soon inhabit this world's nature. From her back sprouted a pair of large yet lovely butterfly wings that seemed to glow with every color of the rainbow, and from her forehead grew a pair of tiny moth-like feelers, soft and gentle. And this the first Flutter Pony was born._

_After her was the indigo one: unlike her sisters, who all stayed close together for warmth and companionship, this one laid a good distance away from the others, simply wishing to be alone. To her Faust gave the Gift of Night; the darkness and solitude of the darkness would be her realm, when the rest of her sisters were fast asleep and unable to disturb her. Her body transformed into one similar to the pegasus pony, but instead of bird wings, from her shoulders grew the leathery wings of a bats, along with a pair of fangs from her mouth and her eyes becoming like those of a cat so she could see and hunt in the dark. And thus the first Bat Pony was born._

_And finally there was the red one, the colt...but before she could grant him a gift, the acts of the dragons came back to haunt her once more._

_For the cave they were taking shelter in was indeed large enough to house a dragon and his hoard...because it did, unbeknownst to the alicorns; farther back in the cave, hiding in the darkness of its depths, a large, elderly dragon watched the ponies from upon his hoard. This dragon was truly an old creature, more than a million years old; his scales and horns were worn, chipped, and faded, his wings torn and full of holes, and his claws and teeth dull and broken, though his fire was still burning bright within his gullet. But instead of attacking, he merely sat back, watching this new wonder before him: he had lived for many, many years, and seen many, many things...and he had come to this planet to die in peace...but he was glad to see one last new wonder before he died: the birth of a brand new race, one that he came to love then and there._

_He was also aware that it would only be a matter of time before the other dragons would find this new world, and meet the ponies being created before him...so, to protect the ponies, he knew that they would need a guardian; one that could stand up to the arrogant younger dragons of his time._

_So, right before Faust bestowed her gift, the old dragon summoned the last of his power and breathed it out onto the red colt._

_Faust watched in horror and Bonnie in surprise as the last colt not only grew into an full-grown just as tall and big as they were, but was transformed into what could only be described as a dragon-alicorn; his fur was replaced his tough, dragon-like scales, resembling a thousand sparkling rubies, and his mane, as black as soot, ran down the entire length of his spine, including the incredibly long dragon-like tail ending in a sword-like tail-blade. His teeth were as sharp as daggers, his tongue now like that of a snake, and his hooves had grown into cloven hooves resembling claws. His horn was long and curved, like a dragon's horns, and instead of wings he had large draconic fins resembling large spines growing from his shoulders, which glowed with the dragon's power; along with his normal unicorn horn, he also had a pair of long dragon horns growing back from his head. His eyes were no longer those of a pony; they were like a cat's, and glowed with a inner fire. They were the eyes of a dragon._

_And thus came to be the first Kirin._

_Feeling the power and wisdom of the dragons flowing through his body, the newly-born kirin seemed to glow with strength and honor; he turned to his creators and sisters, beaming with pride...but all he saw was horror in their eyes. His sisters screamed with terror at the monster before them, retreating to Bonnie, who was the only one who didn't look upon him as a beast. Faust, however, saw only red; her hatred for the dragons blinded her to what this..._abomination _before her really was. And with a scream of rage and hatred, she blasted the kirin with her magic just as Bonnie yelled 'No!'_

_But it was too late. Betrayal and sorrow filled the Kirin's heart, for his own mother had struck him out of hatred._

_With an anguished roar, the newly transformed dragon-pony bolted from the cave and leaped into the sky, a trail of fire streaking behind him like the tail of a comet; Faust realized what she had done and, in a horror and guilt that only a mother who had harmed her child could feel, called out after him, but it was too late; he disappeared into the storm outside, never to be seen again._

_The old dragon shook his head in disappointment as he laid it back down on his hoard of gold; he could feel the life slipping from his body as he laid there...but the only regret he had was not being able to see how this new race would grow. He really would've liked to have seen their future..._

_In the following years the Alicorns forged the planet into what it is now known today, the once lifeless rock transforming into a Eden of life and sunlight. The six ponies grew to create the foundations of the pony race, each using their special gifts to shape the world they lived in; the alicorns watched over the mortal ponies they created, protecting them from dangers of the world and the crueler species of the other races that would come to populate and share the new world with the ponies...one of these races being the Dragons themselves._

_Faust never truly forgave the dragons for what they had done, to both the human race and the seventh foal; the Kirins remained in this world, but they stayed hidden in the shadows of the deep forest, never revealing themselves to the other pony races...some say it was the kirins, and not the alicorns, that protected them from the true threats: they say that since the Kirin was part dragon, the dragons saw him as one of their own, and respected his sisters enough to leave them be...but that did not soothe the guilt in Faust's heart. All races were welcomed in her new kingdom, but the ponies would fear the dragons for what they were in their creator's eyes: Monsters._

* * *

The young lavender filly frowned, hugging the sleeping baby dragon to her chest in worry. "B-But the old dragon was just trying to help." She murmured softly. "...and Spike's not a monster..."

The older mare looked up from the book with a warm, motherly smile, resisting the urge to giggle at her daughter's cuteness; the younger pony was currently tucked into bed in her room at the Sparkle Family Manor, her mother sitting by her bedside reading a story. This particular story had been chosen thanks to the newest member of the sparkle family: the newborn dragon curled up next to the filly who had hatched him.

"I know, Twilight, I know..."

It was an unbelievable turn on events, but it had started out as just a normal day for the citizens of Canterlot, the grand capital city of Equestria and home of Princess Celestia, ruler of pony-kind. It was a special day for the Sparkle family, though, for their youngest daughter, the filly Twilight Sparkle, was to fulfill her dream and be enrolled Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, a famous school where the most brilliant and skilled unicorns from across Equestria studied and learned under the eyes of Canterlot's greatest teachers, as well as Princess Celestia herself. Twilight was thrilled at first, but said thrill quickly turned into the dread when she learned that, in order to enter the school...she had to pass an entrance exam

And not just any exam, but the infamous Dragon Egg exam.

The idea of the test was simple: if you could use your magic to get the egg to hatch, then you would pass. Many students had been given this exam before, and _none_ had ever succeeded before, so it came as no surprise that the purple filly with hardly any magic at all couldn't even conjur enough magic to even touch the egg.

But that was the point of the test.

For you see, as Twilight and her family later learned, the test was secretly impossible to pass: the egg couldn't be hatched, for it was barren. According to the story that Celestia told them, she had found the egg in a traveling caravan of traders of the east, who had found it in an abandoned dragon's cave; she bartered the egg from the traders and, discovering it was a dud, decided to make it part of her school's entrance exam.

The entire point of the test was to make the students fail: you see, once cleared in the enrollment form, the students were already accepted into the school. The 'entrance exam' was to test how the students handled failure and how to approach it in future lessons; students who broke down in tears would be given boosts in confidence, those who threw tantrums would be taught humility, and so forth.

But then this new filly, who seemed a magic-less unicorn, did the impossible; following an mysterious explosion from outside, the startled filly's _incredible _magic exploded from within, and in one blast, she struck the dead egg and brought forth a newly-born hatchling into the world.

In that one moment, she had done what even Princess Celestia could never do: she didn't simple hatch an egg...

She had _created life_.

And even in that miraculous act, her magic hadn't weakened at all: in fact it only grew stronger, bursting forth from the filly's body in a maelstrom of arcane magic which nearly tore the entire school apart, if Princess Celestia herself hadn't intervened.

Twilight's mother, Velvet Sparkle, shivered at the memory: being turned into a potted fern was an experience she _never _wanted to repeat.

But instead of punishing Twilight, as the young filly had dreaded, Celestia saw the pure potential Twilight showed that day, and not only enlisted her into the school but made the filly her own personal student; to study in the castle under her teaching. Not only that, but she allowed Twilight to keep the baby dragon that she had brought into the world, knowing that the infant would never become a true danger being born of pony magic, and within the hour her face and name was in the papers and known throughout Equestria: Celestia's new personal student and Equestria's first true dragon resident. And to top it all off, throughout all the chaos, Twilight had earned her Cutie Mark.

Needless to say her parents were proud.

Tomorrow would be Twilight's first day of school as the princess's student; the poor filly had driven herself ragged preparing for tomorrow and taking care of Spike, and still the excitement and dread of tomorrow wouldn't allow her to sleep, so her mother decided to take this last special night with her daughter and read her a bedtime story of Equestria's History and Lore. Those were always Twilight's favorites; a real bookworm, she was. This story was chosen especially for their newest family member: The Bane of Faust, also known as The Legend of the Kirin...one of Equestria's sadder stories, but one that she and her husband agreed that Twilight needed to hear.

"...why did you read us that story?" Twilight asked as her mother put the book of the nearby dresser.

Velvet smiled, though her expression saddened a bit. "Your father and I thought it was for the best." She admitted, taking her daughter's hoof between her own. "Listen, Twilight. You'll need to know that not all dragons will be like Spike. We read this story so you would learn that: just because Spike's sweet and nice doesn't mean all other dragons are as well."

"I know that, mommy." Twilight said, slightly confused. "Celestia said Spike was nice because my magic made him that way."

"I know, I know, but you still need to remember that: I don't want to wake up one morning to learn my daughter's gone off to introduce Spike to his long-lost relatives or anything like that." She told her, rubbing a hoof on her daughter's tummy, making her giggle and squirm. "Spike will be safer here, with us, not with is own kind. Understood?"

"Yes, mommy." Twilight murmured, yawning tiredly afterwards.

"Alright, now, it's time for this little pony to get some sleep; you have a big day, tomorrow." The older unicorn told her, gently tucking both the unicorn filly and dragon hatchling into bed, pulling the covers up to their chins. After making sure she was comfortable, she used her magic to turn off the light, and then she leaned down to kiss her daughter on the forehead. "Goodnight, my little filly." She whispered quietly, and then silently left the room.

"Goodnight." Twilight whispered to her mother just before she closed the door; she snuggled into bed and wrapped a gentle hoof around Spike, pulling him close to her chest like a big teddy-bear. Spike didn't awake, but he did nuzzle himself against his 'mother's' fur, snoring softly as she shifted over onto his back. Twilight smiled softly as she looked past him up at the window, where a full moon shone down on the city from the night sky; the mare in the moon stood out against the white rock of the moon, as if it was looking down upon Equestria, watching over those in her night.

_'Goodnight, Spike.'_ She mentally whispered as her eyes closed, and she joined her future assistant in slumber.

Tomorrow would begin a new life for both of them.

And what a life it would be.

* * *

_How does one define a Hero?_

_It isn't a hard thing to do; they've been practically immortalized in stories and legends dating back to the dawn of time, and I've seen them all. They are usually thought of as strong, fearless, and, as the title implies, heroic. They always fight for the right cause and do so with a heart unwavering and pure, never giving into evil and bringing hope to those most in need of something believe in._

_That is the very definition of a hero._

_Which is why, when they are truly needed most...heroes are worthless._

_You heard me._

Worthless_._

_It is for the very reasons I just mentioned why a true hero is absolutely worthless when someone has to fight; their purity and sense of right are the very reasons they cannot be the ones to rely upon._

_A hero's greatest attributes are often also his greatest weakness._

_And when a hero falls to his own morals, who will save you then?_

_Sometimes, more often than not, to truly protect the ones you care about and do what is needed, you have to do the unthinkable and the unforgivable; it's not always the easy thing to do, nor the best thing to do. Hell, many times it's not even the right thing to do, but it's what needs to be done...and a conscious will only get in the way. Which is why a hero, who fights with a pure heart, cannot bring himself to do such evil, and never win against such odds...but one who doesn't can do what a hero cannot and crush the opposing force, and live with the consequences, unaffected by the blood on their hands...or should I say claws._

_Sometimes a hero is the last thing you need to save the day..._

_Sometimes..._

_You need a Monster._

* * *

_**Tyraka628 Presents**_

_**A Fanfiction Series created completely by Timothy L. Meinsen**_

_**Inspired by and based upon the Hasbro television show My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic, the Disney film trilogy The Little Mermaid, and the Universal Pictures video game series Spyro the Dragon:**_

_**THE SNAKEASAUR SAGA**_

_**THE QUEST FOR HARMONY**_


	2. A Real Dragon Quest - Part 1

_**CHAPTER I: A **_**Real **_**Dragon Quest - Part 1**_

* * *

_"No doubt but there is none other beeste comparable to the mightie dragon in awesome power and majestie, and few so worthie of the diligent studies of wise men" ― _Gildas Magnus, _Ars Draconis_, 1465

* * *

The first rays of sun peeked over the edge of the horizon, with a shine brighter than what most mornings brought; Princess Celestia never disappointed in starting a day that made one pony happy to wake up to. Even if you got home late and only slept for less than a hour, you couldn't resist smiling at something so beautiful, unless you were incredibly evil or just downright cranky. It was sunrises like these that made Twilight Sparkle happily wake up, even when the sleep she was having was especially deep and pleasant this time around.

The lavender filly that had become Celestia's prized student was no more; in her place had grown a beautiful young mare with an equally beautiful mind and incredible magic skill. It had been more than ten years since that fateful day she had become one of the most famous and important ponies in Canterlot, and since then her magic and knowledge had grown ten fold...though she was no longer a resident of Canterlot.

With a deep and lazy yawn, Twilight stretched out in bed, popping out all the kinks and stiffness in her joint; that had possibly been the best sleep she'd had in ages. Sighing contentedly, the lavender mare rolled out of bed onto her hooves and trotted to the stairs; as she made it down from her bed's roost and opened the door to the lower floor, the the scent of what would surely be an immaculate breakfast of pancakes and scrambled eggs struck her full force, making her stomach rumble in anticipation. Spike's personal pancake recipe had yet to meet another that could best it; maybe it had something to do with him cooking the batter with his dragonfire. On more than one occasion she had tried to copy his recipe, and on just as many occasions had almost set the library ablaze; she was soon banned from ever trying to cook, since it was clear that was one of the few things that she _couldn't _do, magic or no.

She plodded slowly downstairs into the kitchen and, surely enough, there was Spike, holding two plates towered high with delicious pancakes and steaming scrambled eggs, just as she had smelled. The young dragon had also changed quite a bit from being the helpless newborn that Twilight had hatched; now, those still a baby by dragon standards, he was now her number-one assistant. He always helped her with the little things in her life, such as cleaning up the place, cooking meals (since she couldn't even cook toast to save her life!), helping her with her studies, and so forth.

Spike looked from setting the place, his face brightening at the sight of her. "Hi, Twilight! Have a good sleep?" He asked, going back to his work afterwards.

Twilight nodded. "Mmm-Hmmm." She hummed, lighting her horn up, picking up a empty mug from the cabinet.

*SMACK!*

"Ow!" Twilight cried, clutching at her horn; the mug fell back to the counter with a clatter. "Spike, why did-"

"No." Spike said, face set in a steely glare, broom still raised to strike.

"Oh, come on! I can make a _cup of coffee_."

"Last time you said that, Blueblood wounded up in the hospital." Spike stated flatly, not the slightest bit amused. "Only _you _could make coffee capable to giving someone _frostbite_!"

"I was experimenting!" Twilight insisted, stomping her hoof angrily. "If you'd just let me-!"

"No. _Never again_." He said flatly. "Now, if you want breakfast, you'll forget about making coffee, go take a shower, and get cleaned up! You're a mess."

"Now wait just a-"

*SMACK!*

"Okay, okay! I'm going, I'm going!" The lavender unicorn shouted as she bolted from the kitchen as fast as she could go, a flurry a broom swings barely missing her flanks from the doorway. She grumbled multiple curses and profanities to Celestia, Luna, and even Discord as she stormed up the stairs to the bathroom, only minding the books laid across the floor during her late-night studies during her tantrum.

_'Jerk...'_ She mentally muttered, glaring back at the door as she closed it with her magic; it was then, when she saw her reflect in the mirror, did she realize what Spike was saying. She was, indeed, a mess; her normally silky fur was rough and dirty, chunks of dust painting her body like a techno-color cow. Her mane and tail, normally smooth, clean and well-kept, was stringy, knotted and wild from days of neglect, the once-pretty stripes of her hair now tangled with the main color in a cobweb of dirty color. And she didn't even want to know what that smell was...

"Yikes..." She murmured aloud; she blushed with a sheepish grin, slightly ashamed for letting herself go _this _badly.

_'Maybe I _should _take a break from studying for a while...'_ She decided as she turned on the shower; the familiar sound of the shower's stream of water, coupled with the warm steam building in the bathroom, made her filthy body tingle in anticipation.

And with that, she didn't wait another second to jump in...ahhhhhhh..._soooo _much better.

Still, it was incredible how bad it had gotten this time; true, overnight studying was a routine thing for Twilight Sparkle, but this was too much, even for her...perhaps that's why last night's sleep was felt so good...being the first decent rest she had gotten in _three days_, and the only reason she had gotten it was because Spike practically strapped her into it. It was always the same excuse: just one more page, she kept telling herself. And then just one last note after that...followed by just one more book. By the time Spike finally broke the chain and dragged her kicking and screaming from her desk, it had been over 40 hours since her last bedtime, having lived off of coffee and Donut Joe's the entire time...and don't even _ask _out bathroom breaks.

Twilight paused lathering her mane with shampoo, smiling in a goofy manner; when exactly did it suddenly go from her taking care of a baby dragon to the other way around? Huh..._had _it really been _that _long in general? Her smile faded as she sat back, letting the water run over her as she just pondered her thoughts. It seemed just like yesterday...and yet like a lifetime ago...since the day she pulled off a feat not even the princesses could do and became one of the most important ponies in Canterlot. And by Faust's mane, how her life had _changed_.

For the following ten years Twilight studied under Princess Celestia's personal teachings, with Spike by her side the entire time...but despite her fame, the impact she made on Equestria was minimal at best: she grew up kind and understanding, but at the same time reclusive and shut-in. Thanks to her studious lifestyle, as well as more than a few bitter encounters with jealous students and other ponies, Twilight had come to value knowledge and skill over friendship and other social connections. Friendship was pointless; purposeless, and just as easily broken. There was no point for her to waste time on such trivial matters, especially when no one truly appreciated them. The only ponies whom she could have considered her friends were Spike, Celestia, her older brother Shining Armor, and her foalsitter Cadence (who is also Celestia's niece).

In simple terms, friendship simply seemed worthless.

But that changed soon enough, for one day, while Twilight was studying upon an old book of ancient Equestrian legends and prophecies, she came across the legend of Nightmare Moon.

It was a tale Equestria knew very well, if only as a fairytale. According to history, there were originally _two _alicorn princesses that ruled Equestria in the ancient times: Celestia herself, and her sister, Princess Luna. As the story goes, Celestia used her power to raise and set the sun each day and Luna used hers to raise and set the moon each night, and thus the natural cycle was kept in Equestria...but it was clear who was the favorite: All of Equestria and ponykind lived and basked in the grand light of Celestia's day, but slept through and shunned the dark beauty of Luna's night. At first, Luna merely kept silent and waited for the time when ponies would love her night, but soon she became bitter, resentful, and jealous...and soon the growing darkness in Luna's heart consumed her, turning her into a twisted, monstrous reflection of said darkness: Nightmare Moon. Celestia pleaded for her sister to come to her senses, but the newly-dubbed Nightmare Moon would not have it: she swore to plunge Equestria into Eternal Night, first by refusing to lower the moon for day, and then destroying the one who rose the sun. The heart-broken Celestia was left with no choice was to summon forth Equestria's greatest force of light: The Elements of Harmony.

What the Elements are and where they came from had long been lost to the depths of history, but it is known throughout Equestria that they are the most powerful force of magic in the entire world; they were the physical incarnations of harmony and light itself and, when combined together through worthy bearers of each elements, can accomplish _anything_...even defeating a god.

And that's just what they did: with a heavy heart, Celestia summoned the Elements and, with their incredible power, banished Nightmare Moon, her own sister turned evil, from the very planet, sealing her within her own moon for all time...however, according to the legend, that would not be the last of Nightmare Moon: after a thousand years of banishment, the stars would align just right to 'aid in her escape' from the moon and return to Equestria, and in her return she would defeat her sister and bring forth nighttime eternal, for the Elements of Harmony had also disappeared over a thousand years. And her return was nigh; this year's upcoming Summer Sun Celebration would mark the thousandth's year of Celestia's solo reign, and thus would be the night of Nightmare's return...and the Summer Sun Celebration was that very night.

Twilight knew something had to be done; most probably would've just laughed at the idea of the old legend being real, but if there was one thing Twilight had learned from her years of studies under the princess herself, was that legends can sometimes be very real...and if that was the case, then there was but one thing to do: she must find the lost Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon. She didn't waste anytime contacting Princess Celestia about her recent discovery. The young unicorn was certain that the princess would take immediate action, always putting true faith and trust in her student.

So imagine her surprise when Celestia responded by telling her to get her nose out of her 'dusty old books'.

Twilight scowled at the memory, a little hurt by the rather mean response. She knew now why Celestia had done it to begin with, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt anymore; the sudden doubt and betrayal in that simple sentence had struck hard.

Anyway, the princess also responded by sending Twilight and Spike to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, which would be held that years in the quaint little town of PonyVille. Settled by the famous earth-pony Apple Family, the town was a far cry from Canterlot in every way, shape, and form: Canterlot was a big royal city home of tens of thousands of nobles and citizens alike, whereas PonyVille was a farming village populating a little more than a thousand ponies at best; it was also a town where all three races of ponies lived as equals, whereas Canterlot tended to favor Unicorns. Not that such things mattered to Twilight; her mind was set on one goal: getting through the preparations as fast as possible and resuming her studies to find the Elements of Harmony...despite Celestia's orders to find and make friends while she was there. However, her goals were ruined by the constant interruptions of the town's inhabitants; amongst them were five ponies that would change Twilight's life forever: the strong, hardworking cowgirl Applejack, the boastful yet loyal Rainbow Dash, the lovely and generous Rarity, the shy but kind Fluttershy, and the wild and fun-loving Pinkie Pie, all of which open up to Twilight in friendship, much to the unicorn chagrin; she did not have time to waste on petty friendships!

And her fears were confirmed. That very night, during the final hours of the Summer Sun Celebration, the stars aligned perfectly with the moon and Nightmare Moon returned. She quickly took the power and throne of Equestria, banishing Celestia to the sun and bringing forth Eternal Night, vanishing soon after into the night. Twilight quickly returned to her library, joined by the five ponies she had met before; there they discovered that ther were five remaining elements, with a mysterious sixth element that would only come forth when the other five were joined by the 'Spark'. They were hidden in the Ancient Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters, which was located in the infamous Everfree Forest; all of the ponies were hesitant to enter the forest, for good reason, but they all stuck loyally by Twilight side, much to her irritation.

Through the darkness of Nightmare's night, The six mares journeyed through the monstrous forest in search for Equestria's salvation...but they did not go unnoticed; Nightmare Moon knew of their plan and set up multiple obstacles to force the ponies to give up, ranging from scaring them away...to assassination. But each one failed; each of the five ponies that followed Twilight each used their talents to overcome and best parts of their characters to overcome these obstacles, and soon the group found the Ancient Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. Inside the main hall they found the pedestal bearing the five elements, dormant in stone; as she used her magic to bring the elements down, Twilight admitted it: she wouldn't have gotten there if she didn't have her...companions, perhaps, with her.

Friends? No. She still didn't get friendship. It was a step forward, though.

But just as she prepared to ignite the 'Spark' with her magic, Nightmare Moon arrived and swiped the elements with her magic, taking them and Twilight, the latter when she jumped into the swirling vortex of magic after them, with her to the ancient throne room of the ruins. The show down they engaged in was unnerving, but brief, and Twilight struck the elements with her magic in hopes to ignite the spark...only to fair; the elements did not activate under her magic, and the sixth did not appear. Laughing madly in victory, Nightmare Moon crushed the elements under her hooves, announcing to Twilight and the world that they would never see Celestia or their precious sun ever again.

The night would last forever!

At that very moment it seemed that evil had won; Twilight truly felt that all was finally lost...but then...she heard the others calling for her, telling her that they would be there for her, even at the very end. It was then, deep within Twilight's heart...that she felt the _true _Spark: the spark of friendship. She realized just how wonderful it was to have them, how great it was to care for them, to be with them...to have them as her _friends_. She revealed her discovery to a shocked Nightmare Moon, and the newly-discovered truth of the Elements of Harmony: they were no mere physical objects, nor could they be so easily destroyed. No, the Elements of Harmony resided in the hearts of her and her friends.

Applejack, who reassured Twilight when she was in doubt, represented the spirit of Honesty.

Fluttershy, who tamed the ferocious Manticore with her compassion, represented the spirit of Kindness.

Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represented the spirit of Laughter.

Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful sea serpent with a meaningful gift, represented the spirit of Generosity.

Rainbow Dash, who would not abandon her friends for her own personal desires, represented the spirit of Loyalty.

And when the Spark ignited within her, the final sixth element was born: the most powerful of all the Elements of Harmony, the one that she represented: the Element of Magic! With the six elements combined, the power of the Elements surged forth and struck Nightmare Moon, destroying the evil monster and releasing Princess Celestia from her celestial prison...as well as freeing Princess Luna from her darkness. Beaming with pride in her student, Celestia revealed to a confused Twilight that she had been aware of Nightmare Moon's return all along; she knew that Twilight had the magic within her heart to use the Elements and defeat her, but couldn't release it without accepting true friendship into her heart...and now it was time for another to do the same. The pony that had been left in Nightmare Moon's place: Princess Luna, now freed from the dark magic that had tainted her body and soul. Celestia approached her sister, but where most would strike out in rage and disgust, Celestia offered her sisters apologies and her friendship, having waited a thousand years for the day to reunited with her again. Luna consumed with sorrow and regret, threw herself into her sisters arms, crying out in apology.

Nightmare Moon had finally been destroyed, the Alicorn Sisters reunited, and the sun restored to its place in the sky. Celebration filled Equestria from all corners of the land, and Luna was welcomed back by Celestia's side as ruler of Equestria.

And yet, despite the reason and joy for celebration, Twilight was downcast; now the adventure was over, she would soon return to her studies in Canterlot...but now she had finally learned how wonderful it was to have friends, and now she would have to leave them. Celestia, however, merely smiled and asked Spike to take a letter. She decreed that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle would take on a new 'mission' for Equestria: She would continue to study the Elements of Harmony through learing of magic of friendship, and would write to Celestia her findings from her new home in Ponyville. Thrilled, Twilight thanked the princess greatly, and had been living in PonyVille as the owner of the Golden Oaks Library ever since.

Twilight smiled as she scrubbed herself down with her poofy pink sponge, the dust and grime washing off her coat and disappearing down the drain, leaving her coat with its usual silken shimmer; more than two full years had passed since that fateful day, and she and her friends have gone through some crazy adventures together, ranging from something simple yet goofy as designing and making dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala, to as life-changing and dangerous as using the Elements of Harmony once more to defeat the Discord, God of Chaos, from destroying Equestria through his twisted power. Not much had changed in her lessons on the topic of friendship since Celestia assigned her to it, other than the alicorn decreeing that, after a rather bizarre (and admittedly embarrassing for the purple unicorn, one that always made her blush with the emotion when it was mentioned) incident involving brain-washing the entire town, all of the Elemental Bearers were to write to her when they discovered a lesson in friendship.

But what would take place in the following days would bring forth many adventures that would change the very face of Equestria for good.

* * *

Spike was just stacking up another batch of pancakes for himself, made with shards of emeralds mixed in with the batter, when Twilight returned from upstairs. She was looking much better than she was before; her fur and mane had returned to their usually clean silkiness, gleaming with the shine of damp hair, while her horn and hooves were polished and shining like jewels themselves. She was brushing her mane into its usual trimmed, smooth look, the brushes floating by her head through her magic.

"Better now?" She asked with an annoyed scowl, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

Spike grinned, setting his plate at his spot at the table. "Yeah, yeah, it's fine." He stated, clambering up onto his stool as his surrogate sister took her seat on a red velvet pillow with golden tassels at the end. "You have to admit: that was for your own good. You let yourself go really badly that time."

Twilight's scowl faded with a tired sigh. "I know, I know..." She admitted, grabbing a fork with her magic and poking at her pancakes dejectedly; they were still warm, probably thanks to Spike. "I didn't mean for it to go that bad. I was just so caught up in my latest studies that I'll...well, you know."

"Wha' was so im'pur'ant abou' 'his on'?" Spike asked with swollen cheeks, pancakes crumbs and syrup spluttering from his mouth.

Twilight's frown returned as she lightly bopped him over the head with the syrup bottle. "Manners, Spike!" She scolded; Spike grinned sheepishly, unwitting making it worse by showing off his muck-coated teeth. Twilight merely sighed, helping herself to the syrup. "As for your question, I've been studying and catching up on ancient Equestrian legends and prophecies. After the whole incident with Discord, I felt that I should look up if anything like that could...well...happen again..." Her voice dropped with her gaze, her eyes sad and lonely.

Spike could understand how she felt; it had been less than two weeks since the God of Chaos was defeated, but the effects of his power was still effecting everyone who experienced it. PonyVille had been the center of his brief reign, and therefore had taken the full brunt of his madness, in both body and mind; everyone in town was suffering from some sort of issue that the Draconequus had inflicted upon them, and all of the Element Bearers were probably suffering the worst. They had, after all, faced and were corrupted by the darkest parts of themselves under his influence, and became absolute monsters.

But none had suffered worse than Twilight; the only mind he hadn't poisoned...and the only one left to face the insanity that her world had become. Spike hadn't been affected either, but he didn't have to face Discord alone with those who were once your closest friends ruining your very life; the worst he received was a really bad stomachache from Celestia's letters. It was almost painfully obvious to him that she would want to do something to make sure that would _never _happen again.

Twilight shook her head, as if to rid it of the terrible memories. "But enough of that. What's on today's agenda?" She asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Don't you remember?" Spike asked in surprise, remember to swallow before speaking. "The great Dragon Migration is happening today."

All grogginess Twilight had left in her vanished in a snap, followed by the most impressive spit-take Spike had ever seen.

"THAT'S _TODAY_?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?!" She shrieked, leaping from her seat right after; Spike merely wiped the coffee from his face, watching with a deadpanned look as Twilight ran about the Library, gathering the things for the event in a crazed frenzy. "Nonononononononono! Princess Celestia's expecting me to write a document of the migration! Spike, I'll need you to prepare the food while I get the trench dug! Oh, I was _sooo caught up in my wooork_..."

"Relax, Twi." Spike said coyly, causally following her to pick up anything she threw about. "I knew you were going to be caught up, so I went ahead and made preparations with the others. Applejack and Pinkie Pie are busy digging out the trench as we speak, and Rarity made the camouflage outfits just last night."

Twilight could've fainted with relief. "Oh, thank goodness...thanks, Spike. You're the best." She told him, ruffling his head spines playfully.

Spike grinned. "Well, I try..." He admitted, arms folded and chest puffed up proudly. Twilight smirked; her number-one assistant did always have a bit of an ego, but that was probably normal for all dragons.

Which deflated with the next confession. "...but...there's one thing that I _couldn't _get ready..."

* * *

"Come on, Fluttershy; It'll be fun!"

"There's nothing fun about dragons! Scary? Yes! Fun? No!" Fluttershy cried softly in fear as Rainbow Dash dragged her by the tail toward the door, trying to get her to join them and the others outside; for a moment the cyan pegasus lost her grip, and the vanilla pudding-coloured pony immediately made a bolt for it, but didn't get far before the cyan pegasus caught her and started to push her toward the doors.

They had been at this for more than an hour: The trench that they had dug to watch the dragons from was set up about a mile out of town, not far from Fluttershy's Cottage at the edge of the Everfree. The town itself looked as if it had been completely deserted, having not seen a single pony on their way out here; it was understandable, though: giving the dragons' infamous reputation, no pony in their right mind would be caught out in the open and not barricaded within their homes on today of all days...thought Twilight and her friends were exceptions to that fact, if only because of being the Elements of Harmony. The lavender unicorn had originally planned (before she got caught up in her studies) for them to watch the Dragon Migration together...but she had forgotten to take into account a certain dracophobic mare of their herd.

"But Fluttershy, the great Dragon Migration happens only once in a generation." Twilight tried to reason, but to no avail. "Do you really want to pass up a chance like that?"

"Now that you put it that way..._yes_!" Fluttershy squeaked; she had braced hrself against the doorway with all four of her legs in a desperat attempt to stay inside, with Rainbow Dash trying to push her through, but having little luck.

With a flash of her magic, Twilight teleported outside the house in front of the yellow pegasus. "Aw, Fluttershy, we just don't want you to miss out." She assured her friend sweetly.

That was only half-true, though: yes, Twilight didn't want for one of her friends to miss out on what she believed to be a momentous occasion for anypony, she also wanted to have their resident Beast-Tamer on hand, just in case.

"Miss out on what?" Fluttershy asked, still fighting the battle for safety against her fellow pegasus. "Dragons? Big, scaly, fire-breathing dragons?"

"Well... yeah!"

"Thanks, but... no thanks!"

Rainbow Dash, fed up with trying to push Fluttershy through the door, stopped and tried to 'reason' with her. "Look, Fluttershy, I watched that boring butterfly migration with you..." She snapped as she held up a picture to Fluttershy, depicting the pegasus watching butterflies with binoculars while Rainbow Dash laid next to her, looking very bored and irritated. "...So now it's your turn to watch the dragon migration with me! You owe me!"

And with that, Fluttershy finally snapped.

"I. Said. _NO_!" She screamed out, and with that she whirled around and tackled Rainbow towards the ground, even jumping on her and planting her back hooves on her stomach as she leaped over; Twilight gasped in surprise as Fluttershy ran towards the window in her home at full sped, releasing a high-pitched squeal of fear and frustration. When she reached it, she stood up onto her hind hooves, looking as if she was actually going to bust the window open...but instead, she lowered herself and gently opened the windows, whimpering as she jumped out.

Twilight ran toward the window, watching in shock as the pink-maned pegasus ran off into the distance; if she guessed right, that would be the last time they would see Fluttershy for the rest of the month. She then looked back to see Rainbow Dash lying on the ground in a daze, limbs bent oddly and twitching; she could almost see the butterflies circling around her head.

"Okay, I guess I'll let you off the hook this time." The cyan-colored pegasus stated.

After making sure Fluttershy hadn't broken any of Rainbow Dash's bones, she and the pegasus had joined Applejack and Pinkie Pie in the newly-completed rectangular trench; currently all of the present ponies were laying low in the trench while dressed in army-styled helmets and camouflage, scanning the skies with large binoculars for any sign of dragons.

"I don't see any dragons." Twilight commented in a hushed tone after observing the sky for a moment.

"Me neither." Applejack added, looking with her binoculars as well in the same tone.

"Me neither neither." Pinkie included, looking up with her binoculars as well...but in the opposite side. "Shoot!"

"You don't think we missed them, do you?" Rainbow Dash asked, causing Pinkie to look at her through the wrong side of the binoculars.

"No, I don't think so." Twilight stated, speaking in a soft whisper should the dragons arrive at that very moment. "We're just a little early, and I'm glad we are. This way we can watch every moment of the migration without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves."

As if fate decided to mess with the unicorn's claim, the last of Twilight's friends arrived.

"_Yoo-hoo_!" Rarity's voice announce from a distance in an overly exaggerated and dramatic tone; the white unicorn was currently dressed up in what supposed to be a camouflage hat and dress, but it's bright purple, red, and yellow style and golden laces didn't just cut the bill for 'blending in'. "Well?" She asked as the long, fancy red carpet she was walking over unfurled at the ramp dug out of the trench, bursting forth a flurry of confetti and noise makers around the other girls. "What do you think? Am I the toast of the trench or what?"

"Ya'll be toast alright..." Applejack stated flatly in a hushed tone. "...when the dragons see ya parading around in _that _getup."

"You look very nice, Rarity." Twilight commented, trying to keep a straight face and a calm voice as she used her magic to form a bubble around the confetti and red carpet, causing them to disappear as Rarity joined them in the trench. "But could you maybe look nice down here in the trench with us?"

"Nice is an understatement. I look _fabulous_! Who says camouflage has to be drab?" Rarity said in a posh, sophisticated tone, apparently ignoring the looks her friends were sending her.

Then Pinkie silenced them all.

"Ahoy, maties! Dragons ho!" Pinkie Pie announced in a hushed whisper, pointing skyward. Twilight and the others looked up at the sky above to see what could've possibly been the most amazing and intimidating sight any of them had ever seen in their lives.

Dragons, _thousands_ of them, filled the skies above as they flew past the ponies in the trench. They came in all sorts of sizes and different colors as well, being mostly red, blue, yellow, or green, though there also was the occasional grey, brown, and black. They all flew through the skies about two hundred feet above the girls' heads, all heading in one direction toward the mountains beyond Canterlot in one large straight line. It was an very impressive, but at the same time, very intimidating sight for all of them, and one that would last for the rest of the week, as well as one that would not been seen again for more than another hundred years.

"Oooh... Ahhhh!" The girls all awed, using their binoculars to watch the mighty beasts of fire and death fly overhead. One brown one swooped down and performed a somersault in front of the trench before flying back up to the flock, as if showing off for the girls.

"Wow, amazing!" Twilight commented, she and her friends lowering their binoculars to watch the closer dragons in awe.

Rainbow Dash, however blew her tongue, not impressed at all. "Pretty lame move. Is that all they've got?" She asked sulkily.

One blue dragon bumped onto a red one, whether on accident or purpose, and quickly flew away; the red one did not like that one bit and fired out a huge wave of fire from his mouth, aiming for the dragon but hitting the trench instead. The girls all quickly ducked to avoid the flames...minus Rainbow Dash, who received the full force of the dragon's fiery breath.

"What do ya think of _that_ 'move', Rainbow Dash? Still think they're lame?" Applejack asked with a coy smirk on her face.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, contained an almost pained expression of shock on her face, which was a bit charred, along with her smoking mane. "Uh, not so much. The word 'fierce' comes to mind." She admitted weakly.

"And 'formidable'." Rarity added with some admiration in her tone.

"And 'super-duper scary'!" Pinkie included, lying on the ground in fear, but that fear was immediately banished up when Spike came along and placed a cupcake to her hooves.

"Yeah. Us dragons are definitely a force to be reckoned with." The baby dragon said with pride as he took out a cookie from the bowl of sweets he made and handed it over to Applejack. His sense of pride, however, was shattered when Rainbow Dash collapsed onto the ground on her back, laughing her head off at the sight of him.

"BwaHahahahahaha! Yeah, right, Spike." She managed to squeak out, her voice tight with laughter. "That's one of the _scariest_ aprons I've ever seen!" She cooed with obvious sarcasm before bursting into laughter again, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie joining her.

Spike immediately recoiled in pained pride, what manliness he had shattered by the teasing. "W-W-What's wrong with wearing an apron?" He stammered, looking at his pink apron with furry trims that presented a hot pink heart in the middle. "_You_ won't be laughing when _you_ spill blueberries all over _your_ scales. Urh...Feathers. That's one tough stain!" He object, trying to sound tough.

Rainbow Dash paused to breathe, a tear running down her face. "One _tough _stain against one _lame_ dragon." She squeaking, laughing afterwards, much to Spike's annoyance.

As much as she hated to, Twilight had to admit her rainbow-maned friend had a point. Spike was not exactly what anypony would consider to be 'Dragon Material'; she was also pretty sure that was probably one of the only reasons ponies accepted him on sight instead of shunning him for his dragonish nature. After all, what harm could a small, chubby, squishy, wingless dragon hatchling like Spike cause? Sure, he would be like that forever, but until then...

"You leave him alone, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity scolded with a frown, causing the cyan pegasus to stop laughing and look up in confusion. "Spike's style is unique. He doesn't have to look like other dragons."

"Or act like them." Twilight offered.

"My little _Spikey Wikey_ is perfect the way he is." Rarity complimented, fondly flicking his top scale with her hoof, causing it to vibrate.

This comment seemed to worry Spike. "I don't..._act _like other dragons?" He asked timidly.

"Oh, not even close!" Pinkie answered cheerfully.

"But why would ya want to, Spike?" Applejack asked.

"Yes. You've got something those dreadfully fierce dragons can only dream of." Rarity told him.

"What's that?" Spike asked in a hopeful manner. The answer, however, was something he didn't have in mind:

"The cutest widdle chubby _cheeks_!" Rarity fawned in a babyish voice, pressing her hooves against his face and squishing said cheeks. "_Ooooo_!"

Spike blushed hard, making his entire face turn pink. "_C-C-Cute_? Dragons aren't supposed to be _cute_!" Spike stammered, tapping his fingers together shyly. "R-Right?"

But that just made it worse for the poor baby dragon. "Oh, sweetie, you are turning the most delightful shade of red; it is most becoming." Rarity said with a hint of a fond giggle. Spike then noticed every one of the girls staring at him in acceptance...but that just made it worse; dragons are supposed to be scary, tough, strong! Not cute and chubby! This was insulting, even to him.

"Rrrgh!" He growled in frustration, jumping out from the trench and storming off.

All the girls peeked over the trench, watching him go. "Oh, isn't he adorable when he waddles off in anger?" Rarity giggled waddle.

"_Waddle_? Rrrrrggggh!" He growled before leaving the area angrily.

"Wow..." Twilight muttered, watching her number one assistant storming off in confusion and concern. "And I thought he loved getting attention..."

"I don't see what's to get so upset about." Rarity responded, she and the others returning to their watching. "He's so _adorable_! What's the harm in that?"

Twilight, however, just stared after the baby dragon, frowning in thought.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent watching the dragons on their migration, and then Twilight and her friends ended it by going out for dinner. After enjoying a long, exciting day ending with a delicious meal with your friends will leave any creature, human, pony, dragon, or otherwise feeling very satisfied and eager for sleep...but tonight, Twilight wasn't going to find it.

Spike hadn't enjoyed the day nearly as much as Twilight and her pony friends; what they had said about him not being a dragon had left him greatly disturbed. It was true though: the magic that had been used to create him from within the egg was that of a pony, and therefore it left him as a pony in mind: he hadn't been born with the ancient wisdom and fierce, animalistic instincts of a dragon, those instincts having been erased by Twilight's magic and replaced by the gentle, peaceful mindset of a pony that Twilight had, even if she didn't mean to. He didn't even know how to act like a real dragon, even if he wanted too.

"What am I?" He asked himself as he laid in his basket-bed next to Twilight's bed, staring at the ceiling in thought. "Where am I from? Who am I suppose to be?"

Twilight, who had been trying to drown out the dragon's questions with one of her pillows, groaned in aggravation. "I don't know!" She nearly shouted for what seemed like the hundredth's time as she sat up to face him. "For the last time, Spike, you were given to me as an egg." She told him, her voice softening in pity as she spoke. "I don't know who found you or where they found you."

"Seriously? That's _all_ you know?" Spike asked, turning away from her in disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Spike." Twilight said as honestly as she could.

"That doesn't tell me anything about who I am!" Spike stated as he sat up and climbed out of bed; he made his way to the bedroom mirror, looking as his reflection in sadness; a reflection of a copy. A creature resembling one but not entirely one at all. "I need answers! I feel like I'm...I'm looking at a complete stranger."

He then broke down and curled up on the floor, stricken with grief. Twilight's heart tightened in her own sadness and pity; she knew that she didn't know what he was feeling, but she knew that she needed to help. "Oh, Spike..." She said softly, getting out of bed and coming up to him; she gently placed a hoof on his body, gently stroking the scales on his back. "...why don't we do some late-night research? See what we can find out." She offered, turning away and heading to the bookshelf.

Spike looked up, a small glimmer of hope passing over his face. "Really? You'd do that?" He asked hopefully, wiping away his tears.

"Of course." Twilight said as she used her magic to turn on the light and levitate the first book of Mythical Creatures in front of her. "I'm sure we can find something." She then opened the book with her magic and begun to read.

For the next couple of hours the two studied into the night, trying to find any information on dragons that the books of the Golden Oaks Library would have...but for all their efforts, they came up sort with any kind of real information about the mighty beasts. The only stuff the library had on them were old legends of Equestria's past, and bedtime stories for foals, both of which surprisingly yet expectantly represented them in the same way: big, ferocious monsters whose soul purpose of existance was to torment ponykind. Needless to say that was more than just a little discouraging.

Twilight's face scrunched up in disgust at the crude interpretations of dragons, unable to picture Spike as them in the books; was _this _how ponies viewed dragons? Yes, she remembered the Bane of Faust. Yes, they had a bad reputation. Yes, she knew Spike was different than all other dragons in the world...but _really_?

As she read her current book (one containing a historic tale of a griffin knight slaying a blue dragon) , she recalled an event that took place just a few weeks after the whole Nightmare Moon adventure, when a large red dragon had taken residence in a mountain about twenty miles outside of Ponyville. There was no real threat from the creature as it had chosen that cave to enter a hundred-year hibernation, but the smoke it was creating with its snoring would choke the very life out of the land surrounding the mountain for miles, including Ponyville. So, under orders from the princess (which Twilight still privately questioned to this day), she and her friends set off to the mountain in order to 'persuade' the dragon to move elsewhere...what. The. Buck?! Even to this day, Twilight questioned the wisdom of the Princess's decision to send six ordinary teenage mares up to deal with a full-grown dragon; why would anyone even think that would be a good idea, let alone an immortal alicorn of eternal wisdom and leadership? What were they to do if the beast attacked; hit it with apples? Sing it a song? Give it the healing magic of friendship? This was a _dragon_, not a simple school-yard bully or cranky neighbor; it wouldn't hesitate to harm or even kill them if they set it off. Perhaps if they had the Elements of Harmony with them they could've been protected, but aside from that there was no guarantee that the dragon would cooperate on friendly terms.

So imagine her surprise when he did.

He didn't at first. They each tried numerous attempts to get him to move: Twilight tried to persuade him with calm reasoning, Rarity tried to charm and woo him into skipping his nap, and Pinkie Pie even tried to make him laugh to get on his good side, each one ending in failure (side note, Twilight thought: Rarity's idea _was _working until she went greedy and ruined the whole thing). Then things _did _turn nasty when Rainbow Dash, with her ever-present ego and aggressive nature, decided to take matters into her own hooves and outright attack the beast, bucking it straight in the face with her hooves. Of course, the dragon did not approve of this and attacked, blasting them with smoke and leaving them defenseless. And in that moment Twilight feared that her mother's warnings had come true...until something amazing happened.

Fluttershy _made him cry_.

That's right.

Fluttershy, the pony who freaked out at the sight of her own shadow, who was mortally terrified of dragonkind, went up to him, gave him a stern talking-to as if he was but a foal caught breaking a window...and he broke down into tears, bawling his eyes out in sorrow and shame.

It was unbelievable; when Twilight first entered the cave, she imagined meeting a species of a body and mindset far above that of a normal pony. A creature with mental processing and physical strength that ponykind could never even hope to match...one, who would regard her and her friends as mere vermin intruding in its home...but here it was, the 'monster' that had haunted the nightmares and lives of all of Equestria, and Fluttershy was fearlessly babying it as if it were just another one of her critters.

Was _this _the monster that she had heard of so much yet knew so little about? Was _this _the species that destroyed countless lives and were feared and hated from sea to sea?

Apparently not, as it turned out: once the dragon had left and they returned home, Twilight went to Canterlot personally to question Celestia of the nature of her encounter. It turned out that the dragon was a unnaturally equine-friendly individual named Sahqoyol, or Red-Fire in mortal tongue; he was a dragon who had grown up in Zanzebra (a country on a seperate continent than Equestria), nearby multiple settlements of Zebras, a race known for respecting and worshiping dragons. It was these zebras, who had served his family line for generations, that gave birth to and nurtured his peaceful outlook toward equines in general, as well as his softer side. He had come to Equestria to hibernate in peace, knowing that other dragons would not enter the pony's territory and not bother him...but, thanks to the Mane 6, he returned to Zanzebra to nest in his old home; Twilight admittedly felt a little bad about making him cry, despite the overall bizarreness of the whole situation, and thankfully she was able to get back home without letting her parents or brother found out about her little adventure.

There was no way she was _ever _going to tell her family about it; they'd skin her alive!

But what the princess had told her also gave birth to many other questions: apparent the Zebras, a race not too different from Ponies, lived in perfect peace with the mighty dragons. She also learned through research that many of the other races of Equestria lived quite peacefully with them as well: The Buffalo of the Appleloosan Planes practically worshiped them as gods, while the Minotaurs had actually set up a primitive form of trade with them: jewels for meat, and such. The Griffins didn't...but then again, they didn't get along with anyone; even Celestia had constant trouble trying to keep the eagle-lion hybrids from going to war for whatever crazed reason they could think up on the spot. Why was it, when all the other races of the world could accept them, Ponykind, the main race of Equestria, could not?

The book she was reading suddenly dropped to the floor, her eyes widening as a frightening thought entered her mind:

Perhaps...perhaps dragons, at least these kinds of dragons, were not the monsters that had become so feared and famous; the one that made for stories and filled books like this one...but...

...if that was the case...

...if _dragons _were not the monsters in these books...

"Hey, Twilght!"

"GAH!" Twilight shrieked in surprise, literally jumping off her pillow. She fell backwards into a pile of books on the floor, one that had been building up over the night; a loud yet cushioned thump filled the room, a flurry of paper and binding scattering through the air.

"Spike! Don't _do that_!" She snapped as she poked her head out of the pile, a medium-sized book impaled on her horn. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Spike grinned sheepishly, trying hard to hide his amusement under a mask of fake regret. "Sorry..." He lied; Twilight didn't even need to be the Element of Honesty to see through that one. "...it's just that I found this; I don't think it's one of ours."

What frustration and aftershock Twilight was feeling vanished when she saw the book her number-one assistant was clutching in his hands and holding up for her to see. Anyone who came to Ponyville for any reason would learn very quickly that Twilight Sparkle, owner of the Golden Oaks Library, knew her collection completely, and everyone living in this town could vouch for that claim; any new books added behind her back, she would find out immediately, and if any book goes missing or becomes overdue, then may Celestia herself save the sinner in question from Twilight tardy-loathing wrath. There was a reason no one visited to check out a book to take home.

So anyone else would've been as equally surprised as her to see this strange new edition to the library's literature...if they even realized it was out of place to begin with.

It wasn't a very large book, just a little more larger than the average reading book in height and length; it's page count barely made it into the pamphlet category, no more than twenty pages at best. It's binding was made out of brown, smooth leather flaps tied together with red string, possessing no solid skeleton of any sort; a paper-back, so to speak, made at home by someone with non-professional materials. At first glance no one would think it was anything important...but it what was on the front that really caught Twilight's attention; the dust that had gathered on the front was so thick it was almost impossible to see, but she was able to just make them out. Engraved into the leather on the front cover was the symbol of the sun, featuring six symbols surrounding in the great star in a hexagonal pattern: a trio of apples, a trio of butterflies, a trio of gems, a trio of balloons, a cloud with a rainbow-styled lightning bolt, and in the center was the symbol of a star burst, surrounded by numerous sparkles.

Her and her friends' cutie marks. Surrounding the symbol of Celestia's cutie mark.

"Where did you find this?"

"Back behind the books in the lower shelves of the Fictional Literature section." Spike stated as he approached Twilight, turning the book around to face him before blowing on it; an enormous cloud of dust billowed forth, sending both unicorn and dragon into a coughing fit. "It-...*Cough, cough!*...It looks like...*Cough!*...it's been there...*Cough!*...for years."

When Spike mentioned the book was found in the Fiction section, Twilight almost mentally tossed it aside; it was obviously a piece of fiction, most likely made and placed there by a 'fan' of the Elements of Harmony...but at the mention of years, Twilight knew that this book was an impossibly. "That can't be." She said at last. "I just cleaned out and re-shelved the Fiction Section a few days ago; it couldn't have been there. I wiped the shelves clean of dust myself!"

Grabbing the book with her magic, she pulled herself out of the book pile and practically ran over to the shelves in question...and nearly tripped over her own hooves in shock. There, what was once a top clean enough to eat off of that very morning, was a layer of dust thick enough to look like snow...minus a large clean square where a book had been laying the entire time.

Twilight was unable to form words, her mane suddenly becoming unraveled with a comical *Boing*. "...How...Wha...I...that...it...how is that _even possible_?!" She finally squealed, her eyelids twitching feverishly.

She glared the book floating in her grasp accusingly, as if scolding it for warping her sense of reality...when she saw the cover again; with the dust gone, it was much easier to see the symbols engraved into the leather, including one that she hadn't been able to make out before: circling the seven cutie mark symbols, like a great serpent around a ball, was the image of a flying dragon, his body circled around the symbols, as if shielding them from the world.

A book with their cutie marks and a dragon...that suddenly appeared, as if after years, on the night she and Spike were purposely looking for book of dragons.

There was no way that this was pure coincidence.

Spike, who had remained silent during Twilight's mental breakdown, suddenly blinked. "Hold on...I just thought of something." He suddenly spoke up. Twilight looked at him expectantly. "Well...that thing's supposed to have been around here for _years_, right? And it certainly looks that way..."

"Yeah?"

"...well, if it has...then how does it have all your cutie marks together?"

Twilight froze, realization smacking her in the face, making her heart beat faster out of fear and confusion. Spike was right; this book was old...older than how long she and her friends even knew each other.

"This...this is too weird." She finally concluded, setting the book on the nearby table and collapsing back on her pillow; her mind was spinning with questions and confusion, and her body suddenly felt the rush of exhaustion. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and forget this ever happened.

Then Spike asked the dreaded question.

"Well? Aren't you going to read it?"

Twilight stiffened at the question; the moment those words registered in her brain, the all-too familiar urges of curiosity and hunger for answers tugged _hard _at her very core...but for once in her book-wormy and studious life, she fought back against them. She merely sat there, biting her lip as she gave the book a wary stare.

"I...I don't know..." She admitted, not breaking her gaze. "This thing's obviously unnatural, maybe even magical. I _want _to look into it, believe me; maybe it'll answer a few questions about it, like who made it and where it came from...or it could be set to explode when opened, or cast a curse or something on whoever reads it."

Spike grinned. "What was that, Twilight? Did I just hear you say the _'C' word_?" He cooed, cupping an hand around his ear.

The lavender mare glared flaming daggers at him. "Oh, you're _hilarious_. Ha ha." She growled sarcastically, before turning quite cross. "I'm being serious, Spike! There's no telling what this thing might do!"

"Or maybe you're suppose to read it." Spike objected, motioning to the book as he approached her. "I know you're thinking it: A magical book about dragons pops up when we're looking for dragon books? That can't be just a coincidence. Maybe it's like that because you're _suppose _to read it, and if you don't, all of Equestria would be doomed!"

Twilight gave him a flat, unamused look. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

The baby dragon met her look with one that matched. "Says the Element of Magic who was just going on about curses..." He deadpanned; his foster sister opened her mouth to snap something back, but came up with no reply, her mouth flapping like the jaws of a fish. "Maybe it's not cursed; maybe it's just an ordinary book, but there is something important about it. Even I can tell that."

Twilight rolled her eyes as she turned away...only to find herself looking back at that strange book again. She gave it a deadly glare, as if trying to make it burst into flames; this was ridiculous, all this fuss over a stupid book. Never before had the student of Celestia ever met a book she didn't like (not counting those horrible vampire romance novels that Rarity seemed to love so much; her name was the laughing stock of the school thanks to those stupid things...), but this one was coming very close to being the first. Stupid book...stupid frustrating book! She wanted to throw it out; to set it aflame, bake the ashes into cupcakes, turned the cupcakes to stone, and banish those stony cupcakes to the moon! But...she...just..._couldn't_.

Finally, after engaging in a staring contest with it for a good five minutes, she broke. "...if _anything _happens, I'm telling Princess Celestia it was all _your _fault." She hissed at Spike, picking the book up with her magic and levitating it in front of her.

"Awesome." Spike stated, plopping down next to the unicorn, waiting expectantly for her to start.

Twilight huffed at him, then turned her attention back to the book; for a brief moment the dragon on the cover seemed to be staring at her, as if daring her to try something. She swallowed nervously, sweat building on her forhead as she began to pull on the tip of the cover. "W-Well...here goes..."

And with the stillness of a tree in a hurricane, she shakily opened the book.

Nothing happened.

She slumped back with a sigh of relief...before laughing quietly at herself. _'Look at me, the student of Celestia freaking out over a book. _Me_, scared of a _book_. I really _do _need to get out more...'_ She mentally giggled, before looking down upon the newly-dubbed harmless reading material...but what she read aloud to herself and Spike, written on pages turned yellow with time, was of a very familiar horn-writing...

_Dear Twilight Sparkle._

_Hello, I suppose...forgive me; I'm not very good at writing in a social method at the moment, but I plan to change that soon enough. I may not have met you yet, but if you are reading this, then that means we have now and probably know each other very well, so I'm trying to be as friendly as I can._

_I know this all seems rather strange, and I truly wish that I could explain what's going on, but I fear that I could inadvertently cause a lot of damage. Listen carefully, though: this is _very important_. I _can _tell you that I'm placing this message in the Golden Oaks Library knowing one day you'll find it when the time was right, and that it is enchanted so that will only open to you or the other Element Bearers._

_If you are reading this, Twilight, it means the time has come: something very important is about to happen near you, something that will change the very face and future of Equestria for all time. It is very hard to explain, and I can't tell you much for fear of damaging the world, but I can tell you that all of the Elements of Harmony are involved in its workings, as will their bearers be. I _cannot _stress to you enough how _important _it is; if you are reading this book, it means that it is already beginning to happen, and you must prepare._

_I will warn you, though: what will happen _will _shake your life and very world badly; you and your friends will not come out of it unchanged, just as Equestria won't as well...but this _needs _to happen, for the future of all of ponykind depends on it. It will be hard, ponies will be hurt, and your friendships will be put to the test...but I have faith in you, even as I write this, awaiting the day when you will be born._

_I trust you, my future student. I know you can do this. Be strong, young pony; be wise, alert, and understanding. And remember to always keep your heart open; true friendship can be formed between even the most unlikely of hearts._

_I look forward to meeting you one day._

_Signed, Princess Celestia, sol ruler of Equestria._

The book fell to the floor with a soft *thump*, though Twilight paid it no mind, for she was no longer aware of the physical world around her; she just stared into nothingness, her face twisted in stunned disbelief and fear, the words that she had just read echoing through her mind.

_'...No...that...that can't be...'_ She told herself. _'This...this can't be r-real.'_

"...uh, T-Twilight? W-What's going on outside?"

Sweat began to roll down her forehead. _'It's just a j-joke, right? Haha, very funny...real funny, Princess. Y-You never told me y-you had a sense of humor.'_

"Twilight?"

The world closed in around her, the darkness swallowing her whole. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. _'I-I-It just can't...she c-couldn't have...s-she...she k-k-knew...she _knew..._it was _me_!'_

"Twilight! Snap out of it!"

_'S-S-She _knew _I was the Element of Magic all along!'_

"TWILIGHT!" Spike shouted and, in a final desperate attempt to gain her attention, bit down onto her arm.

The world came rushing back as hot-white pain burst through her foreleg; the sheer trauma-like confusion, coupled by Spike's teeth breaking through her skin, caused her to scream out loud. She threw herself backwards, yanking her leg out of Spike's mouth and toppling head-over-hooves into a tall tower of books; the impact caused the tower of books to topple over and fall to the floor with a loud crash, collapsing on top of Twilight's work table, knocking over the horse-head figurine and smashing a multitude of glass beakers, their contents spilling forth onto the table's top, soaking everything they came across.

Twilight laid on her back in the pile of books, gasping for breath as if choking, clutching her wounded arm as she fought back her tears; Spike had bitten down harder than he intended, and blood was leaking forth from the teeth marks.

She looked downwards at her dragon assistant, who stared back with a mixed look of worry and shame. "S-S-Spike...y-you bit me..." She whimpered, shaken from everything happening.

Spike shook his head, clearing it from the guilt. "I'm sorry, okay, but look!" He told her, pointing to the window.

Twilight followed her assistant's finger to the window, about to question his reasoning, when a distant rumble sounded from outside. Shakily she got up and limped to said window, being careful to avoid putting any pressure onto her wounded limb, and looked outside.

What she saw, she would never forget.

The night sky, once filled with Luna's masterpiece of stars, was transforming before her very eyes; the wind howled through PonyVille, leaves and debris tearing through the air at incredible speeds, as the sky itself twisted and morphed into a monstrous storm. Pitch-black storm clouds formed over the town, covering the night skies, thunderous booms rumbling through the skies as lightning blazed and danced across the now darken, foreboding skies. She could actually _see _the clouds forming into existence, swirling in out of nowhere and filling the heavens in a maelstrom of darkness and fear; rain poured down from the skies that could only be described as a hurricane, coming down with a strength and fury of the likes no Equestrian had ever seen. The very earth shook under the storm's wrath, the trees of PonyVille and the Everfree lashing in the wind, leaves, dirt, and even boulders soaring through the air; the hailstorm of debris rained down upon Ponyville, soaring into and damaging homes or even destroying entire buildings. Ponies were already fleeing from their damaged homes, running about the chaos in panic, trying to find shelter from what could very well be described as the end of the world.

That's when she saw it, forming miles above the canopy of the distant Everfree Forest: the clouds began to swirl in on themselves, forming the beginnings of an _enormous _twister in the storm cover...one that was forming upside down, sucking the clouds around it inwards. The closest thing Twilight could compare it to was the little twister that formed in a bathtub; the little swirling whirlpool that formed above the drain when unplugged, though on a godly scale. And from within the growing typhoon blazed a brilliant purple light so bright it became almost white; it was as if the sun had fallen to the earth, lighting up the night as if it was day, lightning of purple and white hues blasting forth like a great spider's web, the thunderous roar destroying the silence completely...and the light grew, building in brightness and power...

Her eyes widened in disbelief and horror.

_'It's beginning, isn't it? The 'event' in the book...' _She thought, unable to move or speak; fear had claimed her very being. _'The time has come.'_

Then, with the light and power comparable to a miniature super-nova, it _exploded_: from the blazing vortex of death and power shot forth a beam of light, like a giant laser, striking straight down into the dark forest with an ear-splitting explosion of power. Twilight screamed in horror and agony, clutching at her ears as the sound wave ripped through her body...then the shock waves came, softly at first, until it blasted through the earth hard enough to throw the lavender unicorn and her dragon assistant bodily into the air, both of them screaming in horror as their very world spun; any object not bolted down was sent flying, raining down on them in like the storm outside.

"T-T-Twilight!" Spike cried in fear, whimpering with the emotion, huddled in the corner as the library continued to shake. "Twilight, help! Please!"

At the sound of her dragon's frightened voice, all fear and trauma surging through Twilight was vaporized on the spot; now, only a fire of maternal protection raged in her heart. Forcing herself onto her hooves, she charged through the chaos and destruction toward him, taking hits from the books flying about; it hurt, yes, but she forced the pain out of her mind, trudging ahead until she reached him, scooping him up in her hooves and hugging him close, using herself as a living shield.

Her baby dragon was in danger, and in that brief moment, pain and fear meant nothing to her.

"It's o-okay, Spike..." She assured him, holding him close as the destruction raged around them. "...It's going to be okay..."

Then she heard it: through all the rumbling, the thunder, the destruction, and the chaos, a new sound boomed forth above all the rest from within the storm and forest. A sound that made Twilight's blood run cold.

A roar.

It was a roar of _pure_ _rage _and _ferocity_, one that should've been silenced long ago by the very creation of civilization; no mortal creature in existence could ever create such a _horrific _cry of pure primal rage. A fury and hatred so fierce...so ancient...so _powerful_...it shook her to the very core, as well as blasted her and Spike back against the wall by the sheer strength of its ear-tearing volume.

It was the roar of a _true _dragon.

The roar of death.

And the beam of light finally blasted forth, and existence itself went white.

* * *

The Everfree Forest.

Since the founding of Equestria, this dark and foreboding forest has haunted the dreams and legends of ponies and all other races everywhere. It was the largest section of untouched wild land on the entire continent, covering more than a _fourth _of Celestia's entire kingdom, slithering in and stretching to cities throughout the land and going far beyond the borders and the horizon itself.

So why did the ponies avoid it instead of take advantage of its natural bounties?

Fear of the alien.

And what was so alien about this forest?

It was _completely normal_.

As all those who live in Equestria know, this planet's natural cycles are manually taken care of by the ponies that inhabit it: Unicorns use their magic to change the seasons, Pegasi move clouds and create weather patterns, and Earth Ponies tend to the growth of plants and care of animals on the ground. But the Everfree Forest was different: it did all this by itself. Unlike the rest of this planet, the Everfree was perfectly natural in comparison with other worlds: the weather and seasons changed on their own, plants grew and thrived without the help or interference of ponykind, as did the animals that lived in it. To most outsiders, this would be perfectly normal, but to ponykind's blind innocence, it was downright terrifying. Even more so thanks to it's appearance and inhabitants.

From above it was a sea of green, stretching on for all eternity and resembling pretty much any regular forest...but beneath the canopy, it was a terrifying place; trees and plants beneath the branches fought and strangled each other over even the smallest patches of sunlight: a rare necessity in this dark land, leaving the smaller, weaker saplings to starve and die in the dark undergrowth. Down there, several hundred feet below the suffocating canopy, dense vegetation thrived on the dank forest floor and carpeted the putrid dirt with its tentacle-like web of roots, providing miserable but sufficient hiding-holes for the many creatures which inhabit this forest.

The creature of the everfree were even scarier and more savage than the forest itself. Many of Equestria's most horrible and feared monsters lurked in the darkness of this forest, eagerly awaiting for a foolish outsider to set foot in it: Dragons were amongst these, though they were far and scarcely spread. Manticores, great lions with bat wings and scorpion tails, were a more common threat to travelers. Timberwolves, canine-like beasts made and grown from the trees they live beneath, hunted in packs to bring down tougher prey. These were but just a few of the many mythical and monstrous beasts living in the Everfree. And then even the beasts themselves could succumbed to other predators, though they not be animals. The lower vegetation itself was alive with poison and toxins of all kinds, from the infamous Poison Joke to their carnivorous cousins the Fang Floras.

From the smallest of creatures to the largest of beasts, from the top of its canopy to the roots of its trees, the Everfree Forest is definitely, by all accounts, a deathtrap for the inexperienced and unprepared...which is why the secrets that laid inside its borders had remained untouched by civilization for centuries, including a famous yet mysterious relic of a time long past:

The Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. The very same ruins where Twilight and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony.

Having been around since the time before the War of the Sun and Moon, this ancient fortress had stood strong against the ravages of time as well as the many wars in had been through in it's existence; even as age and the forest fought to claim it, the ruins still stood as strong now as it did then, even if time and Nightmare Moon's attacks had reduced it to a dirty, broken, rubble-scattered shell of its former glory. It stood on a large plateau in the middle of a large circular canyon, which served as a natural moat; the only way for land-dwelling creatures to reach it would be across a flimsy wooden bridge, which barely held the weight of a couple ponies when Twilight and her friends last used it to reach the Elements of Harmony. This, couple with dozens of booby traps and even a few magical defenses, is why it remained mostly untouched by the forest that surrounded it.

But tonight a beast of a new sort would come to sit on the ancient throne as the new king of the castle.

As the unworldly storm above slowly died down into a still cloud cover, the blazing white light of the purple laser also faded from existence, revealing the carnage it had left behind. For the castle had been ground zero: the location where the laser had struck.

The palace had stood against the blow, but it and the forest around it had not come out unscratched. Everything within a thousand feet radius of the impact site had been completely vaporized; all the trees, plants, animals and even the larger rocks within range had been incinerated on the spot, their ashes scattered across the forest by the lashing winds of the shock waves. Even now a storm of ash was slowly falling down to earth, slowly floating down like snow. The forest just shy of the blast radius had been blown back by the force of the shock waves, entire acres of trees knocked over, crushing anything in their path and tearing up the earth with their roots.

The Sister's Castle remained standing, for the most part: all the weaker pieces, those already destined to fall before the rest, had been blasted down and scattered in heaps across the burned, grass-less plateau. What remained standing had been blasted by the force of a hurricane; all the plants growing on the walls and shoved into the cracks had also been vaporized into ash, leaving the ruins in a surprisingly cleaner state than they previously were, though now weaker and more damage-ridden than before. A thick spray of dirt and mud kicked up by at ground zero of the impact had ruined every last piece of the surviving banners and painting, as well as covered most of the walls and floor surrounding the enormous fifty-foot crater located just in front of the palace, along with the blazing fires still feasting on the last scraps of ruined organic matter.

But it what was _new _to the palace that really stood out; decorating the burned plateau and forest around it were these alien _crystals_. Strange, almost gem-like formations filled the Everfree Forest, with many large formations clustered around the impact crater, but countless more scattered far and wide throughout the entire forest and to lands beyond by the blast wave; they ranged in size, from a few as large as Canterlot's towers, and some as small as a full-grown pony. They also ranged in different colors; the main color was a dark purplish-pink in color, though there were a few that were rarer and more unique: some were blood-red and strangely healthy-looking, others were electric-green and crackled with energy, and others were a soothing, almost heavenly sky-blue...but all the crystals had one thing in common: they glowed and pulsed with the energy of the storm and beam, dotting the dark forest and land like stars in the sky.

Pity there was only one native soul currently there to bear witness to what was going to happen next.

As she coughed hard from the ash in her mouth and throat, Zecora weakly crawled out from the abandoned burrow beneath the roots of a fallen tree near the canyon, shaken badly from the experience. The zebra herbalist was lucky enough to have found it when the storm first hit.

"In all my years in this magical land, never have I seen such an event first-hand..." She whispered in a shaken breath. She looked up to the sky, hoping the freak storm was finally over; thankfully it was, obvious by the cloud cover breaking apart and fading into the air, revealing the beautiful night sky once more.

Normally Zecora wouldn't be out at this hour, but this time was an exception: as a herbalist of the everfree, she was familiar with the growth and blooming cycles of all the magical plants of this mysterious forest, and a recent potion request from one of Ponyville's citizens called for the petals of the Lunar Lily, a rare nocturnal flower that only bloomed during a new moon. She was out looking for this very plant when the earth-shattering storm struck the forest, forcing her to take shelter in a hole in the ground.

She quietly dusted the dirt and ash from her brown cloak and striped legs, staring out with suspicion at the flaming, crystal-twisted palace before her. The skies above the plato was the only place where the black clouds hadn't broken up, though that could've just been the smoke from the fires burning around her. The glow from the fires and crystals alike lit up the smog, giving the fog of black an demonic, red, orange and purple glow, like the fiery glow of a sunset.

_'This forest is known for countless dangers foretold, but this is something not of this ancient hold.'_ She thought to herself, glaring suspiciously at the crystals across the canyon. _'Twilight and her friends have no doubt seen this; I must tell them of the changed palace and forest.'_

She turned to leave and head for Ponyville, when the night was lit up once more by a brilliant purple/white blaze and a sudden clap of thunder. Zecora let loose a whinny of alarm as she brought her foreleg up over her eyes, shielding them from the blinding glare, the boom of the explosion of power knocking her back a few steps...until the light faded, allowing her to look back to the ruins. Within the crater blazed forth a swirling maelstrom of black fog, filling up and spilling forth from the crater like an overflowing pond, unleashing a dark, sinister mist across the plateau. From the clouds blasted forth flashes of lightning, blazing red, orange, and purple as they boom through the air, sending termors through the earth and the zebra's body.

Then she saw it...emerging from the smoky void in the crater: A sight that would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life...

The large taloned hand of a reptile, as large as a small carriage in size, lifted out of the crater and grabbed onto the edge, the meter-long claws ripping into the very stone. Then the rest of it came, cloaked and silhouetted in the smokey mist and crackling with a unholy energy like purple and red lightning, pulling itself out of the ground like a giant demon emerging from Tartarus itself. Huge draconian wings, as long and wide as the palace towers were tall, stretched out to full length before folding down and gripping the earth, adding the coloum-like arms and legs in lifting the creature's enormous body in an upright, four-legged stance. A massive reptilian tail, as long as a small river and as thick as a full-grown tree, rolled back like a giant snake, it's bladed end smashing into the distant rubble of the palace. A long, serpentine neck rose above the rest of it, holding up the monstrous reptilian head covered in twisted, demonic horns and a webbed, basilisk-like frill...and in the head burned a pair of fiery white eyes.

Those eyes...

Those _horrible_..._flaming_..._monstrous _eyes!

Zecora couldn't scream; she couldn't run...she could only stare, frozen on the spot, into those _eyes_. Two balls of pure white flame with no pupils, resembling twin suns blazing bright white light throughout the night. And it wasn't just an ordinary fire they were burning with; no, that would actually be prefered! These eyes...they burned with _hate_...and _rage_. They burned with a dark yet calm, deep-rooted fury and hatred that blazed with a inner fire comparable only to the pits of Tartarus itself. She wasn't sure what events or force could ever cause anger of that sheer level of _ferocity_...but it was clear that nothing in Equestria ever could. It looked very similiar to a dragon, but it was _no_ dragon...at least, not the kind Zecora knew of.

This...this _beast_...this _demon_...

It was _not _Equestrian. She didn't know what monstrous realm birthed such a creature of war and death...but one thing was certain:

_Nothing _in Equestria could _ever _create such a _monster_.

The lightning continued to flash and blaze around this monster dragon as it stepped forward out of the crater, it's body sliding like water through the air as the earth trembled between its very presence; it lifted its head back and yawned deeply, as if awaking from a long, deep slumber, briefly closing its horrible eyes but revealing jaws lined with the terrifying, flesh-ripping, dagger-shaped teeth of a carnivore. The eyes opened once more before it closed its mouth and looked around, taking in its surroundings with a tense yet calm aura, looking about as if it was studying, getting familiar with the alien terrain and already plotting how to use it to its advantage. It's wings lifted off the ground and folded to its sides, the long fingers trailing back with its tail, as it turned itself around, turning its head toward what remained of the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Its eyes and face were no longer visible from her angle, but Zecora had the strangest feeling that it was..._satisfied_.

She paled, the blood draining from her face; if this thing behaved in any way that dragons here did...then she knew it was viewing the castle, and all the crystals that it was most likely familiar with, as a cave. A new den to call home.

It was _planning to stay_.

The dragon then turned it's full body around began to walk toward the main doors, which were obviously far too small for it to fit through...not that it would've mattered; Zecora was certain that this creature was plently strong enough to smash it's way through a mere stone wall. Her thoughts were proven correct when it stopped just a few feet from the doors and, with a deep, rumbling growl of a primal beast, shot forward and slammed its horned head forward so fast into the doorway that it became a dark blur.

The front wall of the castle exploded with a powerful blast of rock, dust, and flame, shattered rocks and wood flying off in all directions. The echoing explosion from the impact tore through the night, sending flocks of birds scattering from the distant treetops.

Shaking the dust from its head as a dog would shake water from its fur, the dragon snorted in satisfaction with a sound comparable to a Flame Throw Spell igniting, and lifted its right foreleg to step inside the new opening in the wall...when it stopped. It simply froze on the spot, listening, _feeling_...searching for something...and then, to the zebra's heart-stopping horror, the dragon turned its head around and glared directly at her.

A flash of lavender lightning lit up the sky, revealing the creature's satanic form in full: pitch-black scales shining in the dim light and glowing with the purple energy, face twisted into an enraged snarl as it rumbled a deep, blazing growl...demonic eyes locked with her own.

Her nerve broke, and she bolted for PonyVille, screaming and tearing through the forest in a blind panic.

The dragon stopped growling and merely watched as the small, striped mammal disappeared into the undergrowth while whinnying in absolute mortal terror, blazing eyes narrowing in deep thought. Without any sign of emotion other than the calm rage and suspicious glare, the great beast slowly turned away from the forest and disappeared into the shadowy interior of the castle.

There was work to be done.

* * *

For what felt like an eternity, Twilight's entire existence was nothing but a dark, dreamless void, plagued only by what was left over from the fear and confusion that had impact her just before she went unconscious. It was almost a welcomed experience; to simply rest, no worries or troubles, not a care of the outside world. So she was, admittedly, slightly disappointed when she slowly returned to conscious.

"Welcome back ta the land of the livin', sugarcube." A familiar country-slanged voice said in a mixture of relief and amusement. "How ya feelin'?"

Twilight groaned as she shifted in place; her body was sore and aching in multiple spots, and her head felt like it was going to crack at any moment. "Sore..." She admitted weakly as she tried to struggled her eyes; her vision was blurred at first, but soon the orange-and-yellow blob above her cleared to reveal the smiling face of Applejack. "...very sore."

Applejack chuckled softly. "I figured ya might." She admitted, turning around and grabbing something. "Ya had an entire bookshelf fall on top of ya; the docs say it's a bonafide miracle that nuttin's broke." The earth pony turned back around, carefully cupping a glass of water in her hooves. "Here. This'll help yer headache."

Twilight smiled gratefully as Applejack sat down next to her and gently probbed her up against her shoulder, helping her sit up with one arm while using the other to bring the glass to her chapped lips. Twilight drank slowly but greedily, the cool water soothing her parched mouth and throat; as she drank, she could feel her headache subside a bit once she got fluids back into her body.

"Better?" Applejack asked.

The lavender unicorn nodded. "A little, yes. Thanks...where are we?"

She asked that question as she finally took in her surroundings; instead of the familiarity of the library (which she realized was probably ruined beyond repair now), she found herself and Applejack in a large medical tent set up in town square. It was a Medi-Tent, just like the one they had set up during the 'Baked Bads' incident: whenever there were too many ponies for the admittedly-small Ponyville Hospital staff to rush to said hospital.

And too many ponies there were: the tent Twilight was currently laying in had at least thirty injured ponies, plus at least ten more tending to them all. She was one of the lucky ones who got one of the cots; most of them were laying about on blankets, while either moaning/crying in pain or laying silently on their beds or blankets. Most of the ponies injured was either bruised, bleeding, or had broken bones, many either wearing casts, slings, or bandages, or having them tied on my a doctor, nurse, or volunteer; one of this volunteers was Rarity, who, other than a large but light bruise formed on his right shoulder, was one the lucky one unharmed. Looking toward the open flaps, Twilight saw at least three other tents set up outside, in what was left of town square; it was still dark out, but lights had been set up to see by outside.

Rarity, who just finished wrapping fresh bandages around the forehead of a sea-green unicorn mare, beamed brightly when she saw her fellow unicorn awake. "Twilight! Or, darling, I was worried sick!" She exclaimed as she trotted over. "When we found you and Spike in the mess of the library I almost feared the worst for you. Thank goodness you only had-"

"Ohmygosh, Spike!" Twilight shrieked, nearly jumping out of bed. "Where is he? Is he okay?"

"Hold yer horses, Twah'!" Applejack said, forcing her back down. Twilight gave a soft 'ow' as the farm mare's hooves agitated her brushes. "Sorry...but don't you worry none. Spike's fine; he's with my sister and her friends over in the next tent. The little rascal awful tough for just a youngin'."

Twilight sighed with relief. "Thank Faust..." She whispered softly. Her mind at ease, her gaze fell to the bruise on Rarity's shoulder. "Oh, Rarity...your shoulder."

Rarity followed her gaze to the bruise, as if noticing it for the first time. "Oh, this silly little thing? It's nothing, I assure you." She reassured the worried librarian with a fond laugh. "One of my display mannequins knocked me in the side as I was trying to get Sweetie Belle and myself to shelter."

Twilight smiled in relief, and then steeled herself before slowly rolling off the cot and setting her hooves on the ground; a soft burning pain shot through the leg from where Spike had bitten her, which had been wrapped in bandages, making the limb nearly give out. Applejack made a motion to grab her, but she held a hoof up, letting the soreness past as she steadied herself.

"Are ya gonna be okay, Twah'?" The orange mare asked worryingly.

Twilight nodded again. "It's just a few bumps and bruises. I'll manage." She assured her.

Applejack shook her head softly in disbelief, looking out of the tent and at the carnage outside; not one building had gotten out of the sudden 'storm' unharmed. "Can ya'll believe this...what in the flippin' pits of tartarus _was _that thing...?!"

"Applejack, language!" Rarity scolded, frowning at her colorful words. "...though I must agree with you on your question. Whatever that was, it was no simple storm. I guess I should be grateful that I had the Boutique set up on the opposite side of town after all; it'll be quite the mess to clean up, but at least it came out intact."

Applejack frowned. "Well, that's more than what _I_ can say for Sweet Apple Acres; that thing sent an entire Celestia-danged _boulder _flying through the orchard and smack-dab right inta our house! Tore up half the tres and smashed the whole buildin' to _rubble_..." She lamented, pulling her slightly battered hat off and placing it over her chest; her eyes began to glimmer with forming tears. "...I know I should be grateful that we all got outta it alive and unhurt...but dag-nabbit, y'all! That was our _home_! And now it's gone..."

Despite knowing this wasn't her fault, Twilight couldn't help but dread: could...could her reading that mysterious book have caused this? The book did say that by the time she was reading it, that an event would already be starting, so perhaps this was it...

...but could she have somehow inadvertently caused it to go off?

"What about the others?" She then asked, with a hint of dread in her voice.

"They're all doing well, more or less." Rarity told her, using her magic to lift a warm wet cloth and dab it gently on the lavender unicorn's bruises. "Fluttershy got out of it unharmed, but one of the forest's trees had fallen onto her cottage and many of her animals didn't make it." She looked rather down-casted by this. "The poor dear's utterly _heart-broken_; she's taken the loss awfully hard. Pinkie Pie's been trying to comfort her, but hasn't had much luck; they're both helping the foals that got injured in the 'storm', if you can call it that."

A sick feeling of dread grew in Twilight's stomach. Even children hadn't gotten out unharmed...oh, she really hoped she didn't cause it now.

"...and Rainbow Dash?"

Applejack snorted, looking rather cross. "Alive, but I'm surprised that she is." She said, anger lacing her tone. "That dang-fool pony tried stopping ta storm with her crazed pegasus stuff and nearly got herself killed; winded up gettin' _both _her wings sprained! I'm just glad she landed in the lake, or who knows what might've happen!"

"I can hear you, _Applesmack_."

Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity all turned their attention in the direction of the voice; laying on another cot near the other side of the tent was the cyan mare herself, glaring indignantly at them; she was covered in scrapes and scuffs from head to hoof, her mane, fur, and feathers ruffled and even torn. Both of her wings were bandaged, tied firmly to her body.

Applejack, however, remained unfased as she stormed right up to her, Twilight and Rarity following nervously. "Well, I sure hope you can, cause I'm gonna give you such a talkin' to-!" She stopped herself, forcing her anger down. She let out a deep sigh, her face becoming one of worry, the tears returning to her eyes. "Don't you _ever _pull such a dang fool stunt like that again, ya hear?! If somethin' had happened to you, I'd..."

Rainbow Dash's own anger went out like a light, water thrown onto the flame. "I...I'm sorry, okay? Yeah, I was really stupid...but I just thought that if I could get to the center of the twister, I could-..." She shook her head, knowing excuses was useless. "...that storm out there; it wasn't ordinary, even by Everfree standards."

"_Whatever _gave you _that _idea?" Rarity stated flatly, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Quiet, Rarity." Twilight scolded; the fashionista looked offended, but was ignored as she turned back to Rainbow Dash. She lit up her horn, and the purple glow spread onto Rainbow Dash's wings; the pegasus purred softly in relief as her body relaxed, the magic soothing the pain and beginning to repair the damage done to her wings. "Go on, Rainbow."

Rainbow nodded softly, shifting herself to look at them more comfortably as began to explain as Twilight continued working on her wings. "Well, when I got closer to it, I could feel this...this _power_, coming from inside; I want to say it's magic, cause it was kinda like the magic feel that I get when you use your magic on me...but that...that was _not _magic. It was something else. Something much, _much _stronger." She looked at her friends, her gaze confused and worried. "I don't even think it _was _a storm."

"Not'a storm?" Applejack asked in confusion, "Then what could've it been?"

Twilight frowned in thought as she continued on her Low-Level Healing Spell, her own mind racing with the very same question. She recalled watching as the vortex first formed, the glowing light of a purple sun blazing from it; Rainbow was right that it wasn't a storm, even if it formed one...but what was that strange power she was talking about? _'And where was this 'power' coming from? If it was a type of magic, then it couldn't have just formed out of thin air; all sources of magic and energy need a source to generate from. If it wasn't coming from the storm itself, then...'_

"Hold on. Ain't that Zecora?"

Applejack's question, accompanied with the crowd outside exclaiming in surprise, drew Twilight out of her thinking spell; the unicorn looked up from her work on Rainbow Dash to see Zecora quickly pushing her way through the crowd, not even bothering to notice the ponies she bumpd into or even knocked over, making a beeline straight for Twilight in a mad panic.

"Twilight there isn't much time to waste! You must write to your teacher post-haste!"

Twilight recoiled in shock at the herbalist's appearance; the zebra looked as if she had just ran the Running of the Leaves ten times non-stop; her fur was sweaty and mattered, while her skin was cut and bleeding in multiple places. Her mane was frazzled and unkept, and her cloak was torn and covered in dirt and...ash? But what shook the unicorn the most were her eyes. They were as if she had seen Tirek himself, wide and dialating in terror, her face pale and wrinked with the emotion.

And before anyone could react, she grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and began shaking her violently.

"You all must _listen to me_! A monster from _hell _roams the Everfree!" The zebra was screaming now, eyes crazed with fear. "Help you find before we all _die_! We are all but prey in its _fiery eyes_!"

"Z-Z-Zecora, s-s-stop!" Twilight cried; she grabbed the frantic zebra's hooves and held them so she would stop shaking her, as Applejack and Rarity quickly pinned her in place with their body weight. Zecora thrashed and screamed out curses in her native language, desperate to break free and escape, but the two ponies held on tight until their captive finally calmed down, collapsing to the ground in tears.

A deep sense of fear began to fill Twilight's stomach as she watched the usually calm mare shaking and weeping in fear; nearly every time she had seen her before, she was always in a calm state of mind, most likely with the wisdom of her native land and people...so to see one that she looked to for help before-hand, broken and terrified...it shook her.

"It's okay, Zecora. You're safe now." Rarity assured her calmly, though her own face betrayed her worry to her friends. "H-Here. Have something to drink." She offered, quickly using her magic to levitate another glass of water.

Zecora grabbed it with her hooves, quickly gulping the contents down in a hurry, gasping for breath afterwards. "I thank you for your generosity, but _no one_ is safe from that _monstrosity_." She muttered, her paranoid gase locked onto the Everfree.

Applejack frowned, as did the rest of her friends; by now Zecora had drawn a crowd, and everyone was expecting for an answer.

The zebra shuddered as she screwed her eyes tight, the image of the creature flashing before her mind. "Within the forest near the castle of old, a beast came from the storm untold: I knew that warning you all was most dire, the first time I looked into those _eyes of fire_! With teeth like swords and claws like spears, the creature's very sight made me cry with _fear_! With a power of strength greater than the _very sun_, I knew that when he saw me I had to run! I beg of you: call your gods for help, and to don't ask me why! Or _all _of Equestria will perish by the beast of the _demonic eyes_!" She then broke down into a sobbing mess and started softly chanting in a strange language that Twilight had never heard off, praying to whatever spirits of her homeland for protection and deliverance from this darkness.

Twilight felt her blood run cold as Zecora described the monster she had seen; as a graduated student of Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, she had quite the knowledge of magical creatures, having studied on them ever since she adopted Spike in hopes of finding out more about dragons. And living next to the Everfree Forest only allowed her to gain field-work experience with these unnatural beasts. She had heard of them all, and even seen most of them herself: Dragons, Manticores, Timberwolves, Chimeras, Parasprites, Sea Serpents, Ursa Majors, Gragodiles, Cockatrices, Star Spiders. You name it, she knew of it.

But to hear of this...this..._monster_. Coming from one with probably even more knowledge of the magical wilds than her.

It was _terrifying._

Apparently everyone listening was feeling just as frightened as she was; murmurs of fear and worry were spreading rapidly through the crowd, the ponies listening already beginning to feel panic coursing through them. Applejack and Rarity just stared with faces of slowly-forming dread, looking at each other in worry, while Rainbow Dash tried to hide her emotions under a stern glare, but you could spot it easily enough. Twilight spotted Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Spike, standing amongst the crowd and listening as well with their own looks of horror and dread; Fluttershy looked even paler than Zecora did, and Twilight feared that she would topple over at any moment.

"Twilight..." Applejack whispered. "...what...what are we gonna do...?"

And for the first time in her life, the student of Princess Celestia found herself unable to come up with an answer. "I...I don't know."

Then Rainbow Dash had to open her big mouth.

"I'll tell you what we're gonna do!" She announced, jumping off of her cot and taking to the air, ignoring the slight pulling in her recently-healed muscles. "We're gonna march straight into that forest and use the Elements to blast that storm-causing monster back to Tartarus!"

"NO!" Zecora cried, jumping up and grabbing Twilight by the shoulders once more. "You must not go into the lair for the beast! If you do then on your _very soul _it will feast!" She was screaming now, shaking the poor unicorn like a ragdoll once more.

"That is _enough_!" Twilight shouted, finally snapping. With a flash of the horn, she fired a single blast of magic at Zecora's forehead, where it was absorbed into the striped flesh; Zecora herself barely had time to register what had happened before her vision went dark, and she toppled over with a soft thud, her mind once again in peace.

"What was that?" Spike asked, running up to Twilight's side.

"She was going into hysterics, so I hit her with a simple Sleeping Spell." She answered; she lifted the sleeping zebra up with her magic and placed her on the empty cot where Rainbow Dash had been laying moments before. She then turned away, leading her group of friends out of the tent and down the street. "Come on, Spike. We have to get the Elements and warn Princess Celestia about this 'monster'."

"D-D-D-Do w-w r-r-really h-h-have t-t-to g-g-go a-a-after i-i-it?" Fluttershy squeaked, leaning against Pinkie Pie to keep from fainting; even by Fluttershy standards, she looked truly afraid. "P-P-Perhaps t-t-the p-p-princesses c-can d-d-deal w-w-with t-t-this o-o-one."

"W-Well, what else can we do?" Rarity asked; she was just as scared as the others, but she was keeping the brave face for the group. "Another evil creature has shown up to threaten Equestria, even if it does sound rather...intimidating; if we use the Elements of Harmony against it, then it'll be no different than when we defeated Nightmare Moon or Discord."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "W'all just be a might more careful this time around." She assured the cream-yellow pegasus, gently patting her on the shoulder.

Twilight, meanwhile, remained silent in thought as she trailed behind, lost in her own thoughts; she was so deep in thought she didn't even notice Spike until he tugged on her mane. "Hey, Twi-"

"GAH!"

"Sorry, sorry!" He quickly cried, holding one hand up in surrender. "It's just that I held onto _this _for you. I gotta feeling that it's gonna be very important." He pulled something out from behind his back, and Twilight's heart filled with dread at the sight of it.

The mysterious dragon book from before.

Suddenly, it all clicked in her mind as she broke to a halt; Rainbow Dash was right...it wasn't a _storm_! It was...

"A _portal_."

"What was that, Twah'?" Applejack asked, she and the rest looking back in confusion.

Twilight nearly face-hoofed. "Of course! I can't believe I didn't see it before!" She exclaimed aloud, scolding herself. "That 'storm': it was a _portal_! And that 'creature' came out of it!"

The only one to realize this was Spike, the only one who had read the book too; the others just looked at each other in confusion.

"And how do you figure that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"_You _told me how." Twilight told the cyan pegasus, before clearing her throat; it was time for Teacher Twilight to make another speech. "You said as you got closer to it, you could feel a power that was yet wasn't magic coming from inside, right? Well, where was that 'power' coming from? All sources of magic and energy need a source to generate from. If it wasn't coming from the storm itself, then it must've been coming from a different, distant source, which came out in the form of a tunnel which ended _here_!: the Vortex in the storm, where the power and beam of light came out of. And if it ended here...?"

Surprisingly, it was Pinkie Pie who caught onto this one. "...then where did it _begin_?"

"Exactly!" The unicorn praised excitedly, pacing back and forth in explanation. "Rainbow Dash was right. It worked in the same way my magic does, namely my Teleportation Spell: it took from a power source, like my spell does with my magic, and pushed it through space from one point to another! This, though, was something far more complex than my spell since, instead of pushing things through space, it tore open a 'tunnel' through reality itself, so to speak, from one point to here."

Applejack frowned. "Ah...Ah think Ah get what y'are saying, Twah', but if that's so...then where was that there tunnel and energy comin' from?"

At that Twilight frowned. "...wherever that strange monster that Zecora was talking about came from as well." She stated softly. "You heard what Zecora said: within the forest near the castle of old, a beast came from the storm untold. She saw the thing come out of where the storm opened up too, and that means that this creature must've found the portal's entrance and came to Equestria through it...perhaps even from another dimension..."

"Woah, woah, woah, back up!" Rainbow Dash spoke up, waving her hooves in a stopping motion. "Are you saying that thing Zecora saw is some sort of _Space Alien_?"

"Not an alien in _that _sense..." Twilight groaned, glaring at her plain-minded companion; honestly, she needed to see the bigger picture here. "...but yes: this thing could very well be a _being from another world _altogether."

Everyone gasped in the usual surprised way; Twilight began to wonder if there was ever anything they didn't react to with frightened gasps all in perfect unison. Was it even _that _surprising, given everything else they had faced before? The Mare in the Moon, a _God _of Chaos, A hoard of hungry, clone-duplicating insects, a fire-breathing dragon in the mountains...was a monster from another world _really _that far off?

"Is that _even possible_?" Rarity asked. "Do _other worlds _even exist?"

"Apparently so, and a resident of one is currently lurking in the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters as we speak." Twilight stated. "Though that means this will be even more dangerous than Nightmare Moon and Discord."

"How so?" Rainbow Dash asked, kick-boxing in the air. "We kicked their butts just fine, and they were some of the most powerful bad guys around! I doubt one big E.T. wannabe will be very much trouble: it might be like those aliens in that movie I saw with Glida onetime: he might be dying of our common colds as we speak!"

The lavender mare glared at her, angry at her for not taking this seriously. "Yeah, or it could be a being of otherworldly body and power so great that not even Princess Celestia could stand up against it!" She snapped...before softening. "And judging from Zecora's description of the creature, it just might be that. We don't know, and that's why it's more dangerous: this time, its a threat we have absolutely no knowledge of, including on how to beat it."

There was a moment's silence, everyone just standing (or in Fluttershy's case, trembling on the ground in terror) there, trying to process the chaos going around them. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Applejack broke the silence with a heavy sigh, flopping down into her rump in exhaustion, both physical and mental.

"Why?" She asked, her voice sorrowful and heavy. "Why do these things _always _keep _happening _to us?" She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears building in them. "What happened ta the days when are greatest worries were gettin' the orchard fixed or not missin' the next Wonderbolts show, instead of keepin' every mad whacko with revenge issues from tryin' to destroy our very world and lives? Can't we just enjoy our lives without someone or something always threaten' 'em?! Why?! Why do these things always happen to us?!"

No one answered...until Twilight's gaze turned to the book, her eyes staring into those of the dragon...which were shown to be burning with fire...

...just like Zecora said...

"You know...I think that this was suppose to happen..." She told them. "...and I think I know what to do."

* * *

"Seems like only yesterday we were heading through these woods to find the Elements of Harmony." Rarity commented as she, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash travelled down the path through the Everfree Forest to the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

"_Amazin' _how time flies when yer havin' fun." There was no missing the friendly sarcasm in Applejack's voice, earning a laugh from the other girls. Hours had passed since the six mares first entered the forest, making their way to their ruler's former castle. Their journey this time around, however, was much smoother and more peaceful than when they first trekked to the ruins all those years ago to defeat Nightmare Moon. Every obstacle that the Lunar Goddess had placed before them was now no longer existent, allowing them to travel with ease, along with that the Elements have faced many perils since the beginning of their friendship, and therefore had some experience with dangerous adventures; perils that to this day, would go down in Equestria's history as the Equestria's triumphs over the evil's of the dark.

They had already journeyed down the path all the way passed the Serpent's River, and were currently following the cobblestone path that would lead them to the palace. To pass the time and relieved tension from themselves, they talked amongst themselves about the many things going on in their lives: subject's such as their work lives, latest music, favorite food, anticipated events, and even about some of the cuter stallions and who they thought was more attractive...but for one mare there was many questions plaguing her thoughts wanting to be let out and answered for her own peace of mind.

Other than the clip-clopping of her hooves against the stony road, Twilight remained perfectly quiet as she stared at the book floating in her magical grasp. Part of her wanted to open it up and see what secrets lay within the pages she had yet to read...but something held her back: the dread of knowing. Never before in her life had she ever felt the fear of not wanting to know something...until now. And she wasn't sure she liked it.

What other facts and events of her past and future life had been recording onto these pages. How much more did Celestia know of what was to come? How did she even know to begin with? What factors of Equestria's history had been the result of her oracle-like knowledge of the future. And was it so that this event would happen right after she obtained the knowledge to deal with it?

She observed the dragon picture once more; was _this_ the creature the event...the portal...had brought into their world?

And what connection did it have with the Elements of Harmony?

The purple mare hounded herself trying to find a plausible answer that could satisfy her thoughts and to let her be free of the torment she created for herself...so deep was she in her own thoughts, that she didn't even hear her friends calling to her.

"Twilight?" Rarity called to her; when she received no sign of acknowledgement from the purple unicorn, the fashionista moved forward from her place beside Fluttershy and tapped a hoof on Twilight's flank. "Are you okay, dear?"

Twilight jumped so high that anyone would've thought she had sprouted wings.

"WAAAAHH!" She screamed as she spun around, coming face to face with a surprised Rarity. "WHAT THE HAY?! Don't _ever _do that again! You nearly scared me half to death!"

Rarity recoiled in surprise from Twilight's reaction, instinctivelly putting a hoof over the purple gem over her element, which they had obtained with the rest from the display case in the Golden Oaks Library, where they were moved to since Discord's attack for in case of emergency...such as now; she knew the purple unicorn was deep in thought, but she didn't think that she would've nearly bitten her head. "Forgive me, darling...but you seem to have been in quite a trance for quite some time now." She looked into Twilights eyes and could see the frustration and wariness in them "...Twilight, dear...is everything alright?"

It was a stupid question to ask; of course everything wasn't alright. She was tense, nervous, and overall genuinely afraid of what they might find in the palace. Some monster of other worldly origin and power waited for them, as foretold in an ancient prophecy recorded by Princess Celestia herself. It would take an incredible sense of self-denial to even think that everything was just fine; even though, as the girls spoke and laughed with each other, they were doing so in an attempt to relieve the heavy air of tension around them, and with little success. They knew that the Elements of Harmony were the most powerful artifacts in Equestria, but if this was truly something not of Equestria, it could very well be immune or even stronger than them...and that idea truly scared them all.

"Well..." Applejack began as she stepped forward, passing the others as she made her way to the front of the group. "I...I know y'all are just as scared as I am...but even if we _are _stuck with hafin' ta deal with all this craziness, we can find comfort knowin' that our friends and kin back home are safe because of it."

Twilight smiled. Applejack may have been lamenting about their duty before, but now she was glad to see the mare taking it in stride. "You're really brave, AJ." She told the farm-mare sincerly.

Applejack blushed, pulling her hat down to cover her upper face. "Aw, suck, Twah'. Ain't nuttin to it." She said sheepishly. "...now, what say ya'll that we go in there and deal with that ol' beastie in there?"

"Hey yeah!" Rainbow Dash piped up. "Applejack's right: we can't back out like a bunch of scared fillies! The faster we kick that monster's flank, the faster I can get back to catchin' 'Z's."

Twilight frowned; along with everything else she wasn't sure about, one of them was fighting and defeating the monster when they found it. Were they suppose to do that? She remembered what the book had said before.

"C-c-can't we l-l-let t-the p-p-princesses h-h-handle t-t-this o-one?" Fluttershy whimpered as she timidly shuffled along behind Rainbow Dash.

"No we can't, Fluttershy; Celestia's usually asleep at this hour, and Luna has the Night Court to take care off. We can't tear them away from their rest or duties to handle something that only the Elements can accomplish." The student of said princess said as they neared the top of the hill; it was only a quick trip downhill before they would reach the canyon and cross to the palace. _'...and to tell the truth...I'm not sure I'm ready to face Princess Celestia just yet.'_ She mentally confessing, becoming suddenly aware of the weight of the book in her saddlebag.

Rarity nodded as the mares reached the top of the hill. "Very well, darling, let us be off. I need to return back to my boutique soon to get some rest, I have an order due in a few days and I need...to...finish..."

She never got to finish her sentence, for her voice and thoughts died off as she and the others beheld the newly changed palace and forest surrounding it. The numerous and massive crystals formations cracked through the darkened landscape with an onimous reddish-purple glow, the plant life of the plato incenerated and scattered to the winds as ash, which snowed down upon the burned-down forest surrounding the palace...and scattered throughout the fallen trees and flung rubble were the corpses of the native woodland animals that didn't escape the storm's wrath, their pooling blood painting the white landscape of ash, and what plants that were smoldering but still standing.

The mares stood in shock, barely able to believe the sight before them. This was far more terrible then when even Discord twisted the world into his mad vision just a few weeks ago.

Finally, Twilight finally worked up the stomach to continue forward; the thick layer of ash shifted beneath her hooves, and far a moment she nearly lost her supper, realizing that she could b walking through the remains of a dead animal. The others began to follow, each just as silent as her as they fidgeted through their steps, their skin crawling as their hooves stepped through the shifting remains of life. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed by flying, being spared from having to step in the carnage.

_'This...this is _terrible_! What in the name of Faust _was _that beam of light?!'_ Twilight asked herself as she and the others began walking through the debris of broken trees and burnt grounds. But that would be an question left unanswered, and replaced with another from Pinkie Pie:

"How are we going to get across _now_?"

The party mare's voice snapped them all out of their traumatic daze, drawing their attention to the canyon separating them from the palace grounds: the rope/plank bridge that had previously allowed them to cross had also been vaporized by the beam; not even the wooden stumps that held the ropes were spared, now no more than cinder-covered bulbs in the dirt.

"How in Celestia's name are we supposed to cross over that dreadful chasm now?" Rarity repeated as she stared down into the blackness below.

Everyone was quiet for the moment until a cough from a rainbow-maned pegasus caught everypony's attention. "Uhmm, I think you guys forgotten that we got two _unicorns _here, one of which is the _Element of Magic_?" She emphasized, making a 'hint-hint' gesture toward Twilight's horn.

Twilight physically face-hoofed from forgetting such a thing. "Right, Teleporting..." She murmured; seriously, why did she keep forgetting?! Certainly this would've been handy in many of their previous adventures...though she never teleported this many ponies at once.

"Okay just give a few seconds to prepare..."

The Teleportation Spell that Twilight knew was a ancient yet complex spell created and archive by StarSwirl the Bearded himself; created sometime in the brief era of peace between Discord's Fall to the Crystal Empire War, this spell is considered by many historians to be one of StarSwirl's greatest works, though its fame could only be appreciated by the stronger unicorn wizards and mages. The spell was so complex and powerful that only alicorns or the strongest of unicorns could use it, and even then it took great concentration and magical energy to cast. In the modern day, it had all but disappeared into the archives of the StarSwirl the Bearded Wing of the Canterlot Castle; Twilight Sparkle, along with the princesses themselves, were the only ponies since StarSwirl himself, to master and wield this incredible spell, used occasionally by the princesses in emergency, but by Twilight on a regular basis.

Twilight had first learned about this ability during her second year under Celestia's tutorage, and it only took another year for her to perfect it; yet another miracle of modern arcane wielding by the young unicorn protege. It wasn't easy to use at first, and even when it was successfully cast, the effects could take their toll on the body of the caster; being suddenly and instantly jerked from one point in space to another in a eye blink was not a pleasant experience for beginners, but through constant practice and mastery, Twilight had quickly adapted to it, to the point where she felt nothing.

So when she teleported herself and her friends across the chasm in one swoop, she remained standing tall and completely unaffected thanks to her years of practice.

Her friends, however, sadly lacked her level of experience.

"Ooohhhhhh, that was a bad ideaaaaaa...ohhh..." Rainbow Dash groaned, clutching her stomach with her wings; the audible gurgling coming from it did not sound healthy at all. "...I-I think...I'm gonna...*Urk!*..."

She whirled around on the spot and promptly released her supper, staining the blackened earth with digested plant matter, spreading green and brown all over the dirt. She continued to heave until she had coughed up every last bit of food, but even then she could still taste the bile in her mouth, and feel the queasiness in her stomach.

Seeing the pegasus vomit was all it took for the rest of them; Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy all turned away and regurgitated the last meals on the spot; Rarity and Fluttershy let loose a few tears as the bile left their mouths, while Pinkie Pie...was the only one who seemed, for the most part, unaffected by the teleportation. She looked a bit queasy, but otherwise remained strong.

"Twah'..._never _do that _again_." Applejack groaned, using a hoof to wipe away the residue bile from her lips.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, _sorry_!" She pleaded pitifully, cupping her forehooves together in a plea. "It's been so long since I got sick from it that I forgot it even happened to beginners! I'm really sorry; I won't do it again, I swear!"

"Look, were cool...it just...ugh...no more teleporting for me. I'll think I'll stick to what I do best." Rainbow murmured, flexing her wings.

"Alright...everypony here good now?" Applejack asked, looking about her friends. The other sick mares just groaned in response, while Twilight and Pinkie Pie nodded. "Good...then I think we better git goin'..."

Only then did the six ponies remember why they were here to begin with, and they cast their dreading gazes up to the mighty castle before them; the true sheer sizes and mass of the energy-crackling crystals were much clearer now, many of them towering and looming over them, their dark shapes and ominous glow lighting the darken landscape. The ruins stood before them, like the gateway to the dark realms of shadow, just waiting for the ponies to dare step inside...to what very well could be their doom.

The demolished doorway was the only thing standing between them and the mysterious monster from another world.

"Is everyone ready?" Twilight asked, unconsciously shifting the element on her head.

None of them answered; of course they weren't ready. They had never been truly ready to face any of the threats before; Nightmare Moon had been an easy break for them, and Discord's corruption had only shaken them at best. And during both of those attacks, victory had been assured, either by the spark of friendship or by the sweetened words of Princess Celestia.

This was the first time they were going up against a _true _threat.

Then Twilight's gaze fell upon her saddle bags; using her magic, she lifted out the dragon book and simply stared at it, mainly at the image of the beast circling over their cuties marks...as if protecting them from the world. She caressed the face of the dragon image with her hoof, and in that one strange moment, she felt safer than she ever had before in their entire life.

Encouraged, she swallowed her nervousness and steeled herself, placing the book back in her bag.

"Well...let's go."

* * *

From within the higher ruins of the castle, a pair of fiery white eyes shone through the darkness, looking down at the source of magical light and energy it had felt mere moments ago. It shifted its tail coils about in a serpentine manner, his purple scales glimmering in the dim crystal light as his tail blade flicking back and forth, eyes narrowed in thought.

So...these were the natives of this strange world...

They were just as unbelievably odd as their world itself.

That's what the hidden beast thought as he watched the six mammals enter the ruins that he had claimed as his new home since he had arrived in this new world. Normally, the new and the peculiar didn't hold such a strong impact on him anymore as it once did in his younger years; he had been to many different realms over the many centuries of his life, had seen many different things (and probably killed just as many) in them, creature, objects, and forces of nature and reality alike.

Of course he knew and been to other worlds, other planets, and even other universes. All of his kind knew of them; they had spread to and made themselves legends throughout the cosmos. Not one world existed out there that did not know of the great Dovah, even if they no longer roamed and hunted in their particular realms, no matter how ancients the tales and songs...and no matter what the name they were called by the people. And he was no different; he had seen and traveled many realms, seeing both wonders and dangers that most mortals would never see, or even could imagine...

Nothing really _surprised _him in that sense anymore; there was the usual feeling of bizarre confusion when he usually first arrived in new worlds, but that would wear off in time.

In short: he had seen it all.

So he gave _this _world credit for once again re-sparking his long-dead sense of surprise in the new.

Under what circumstances of natural selection and chance, or by what world-creating deity in a sane sense of mind, would bring forth such a bizarre realm of existence, with equally bizarre life-forms to inhabit it? The very aura of the world was of the kind he had _never _felt before.

His scaled face tightened in a dark, scowling glare as his glowing eyes briefly pulled away from the creatures to look about the room; he could smell it in the air, _feel _it in the worldly aura around him. No realm or world within it lived through their Reign of the Dov and survived without some traces of the great beasts and the destruction they left behind...but this one...

Its inhabitants...its _aura_...

It all felt _clean_.

Innocent.

.._Too _innocent.

That in itself proved that it couldn't be one that his kind had been to before. Both were the home realms of the Dov, and therefore reeked of their scent...but not here; even in the _aura _of the world, he could not feel _anything_ of his kind, either living or dead.

He suddenly shook his head with a deep snorting huff, shaking himself out of his thoughts; all this 'world-talk' did not matter! He was here for a reason, and he would _find _this reason...though if this world's pathetic appearance was the same for its strength, then the reason was already clear.

He turned his gaze back down to the six natives below, who had just begun to cross the main hall of the castle, heading to what remained of the grand stairway. His eyes seemed to glow just a bit brighter as he shifted above on the stones rafters of the palace roof, studying them each; observing their forms, analyzing their individual strengths and weaknesses, already strategising multiple ways to beat and defeat them should need be...though he seriously doubted that was the case.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled through his nostrils, taking in the faint scents emitting from the creature's warm blood flesh:

Hmmmm...mammal...equines, like horses...or _ponies_, given their very small size...all female...and all with under-developed hormonal glands and reproductive organs. Teenagers, or at least very young adults.

But these were unlike any equines he had seen in any world before. First off their anatomy was completely off in many aspects: First, their coat colors were downright outrageous, but anything with a working pair of eyes could see that. In the natural world, it was a universal fact that armorless prey mammals too small to defend themselves from predators needed coloring that would blend them into their surroundings. He wasn't really one to talk given his own color, but he did say '_natural _world'...and in what natural world would a creature with _purple fur _or _rainbow hair _ever have a chance at survival?! He could spot something like that from _space_.

Second, were their legs: A normal horse's leg was long, thin, and sturdy, because it was more flexible and easier to move with their powerful thigh muscles and allowed for more leverage. He would know; he had chased down horses for food before...one of the few prey mammals that could afford to skip aspect one: you didn't need camouflage if you could outrun predators...not with those stumpy little things.

Thirdly were their heads: While most equines had a head that sloped up in a uniform fashion, theirs...were almost human in appearance: large, rounded head, overly-large forward facing eyes that sparkled with intelligence and emotion, and short muzzles with flexible facial muscles...they all pointed to the same thing: they were sapient. Soul-Bearers: living souls with thought and morals, not just wild animals of pure instinct...just like his own kind, though these were on a much lower level than his own, even for mortals.

And finally was their power: he could feel it within each of them...it was incredibly weak (minus the purple one's), and of a kind he had never felt before...but he could feel _Magic _flowing through their bodies.

That last one alone made it almost _painfully _clear: there was no way that evolution could ever give rise to a species like _this_, not even supernatural evolution. These creatures were _created_, by some higher force or being; this entire world and just about everything that originated in it...but what kind of deity made a world like _this_? It was as if some god with a sick sense of humor had descended from on high and bestowed the sappiest, happiest, most innocent Nord girl with the power to create her own world and this was the result: a glittering pink pool of sunshine, rainbows, and pretty little ponies.

He was already feeling sick.

But then again, appearances could be deceiving; a little fact he had learned many years ago.

Question now was: what were these 'ponies' doing here?

Were they here for _him_?

There was no other even _remotely _logical reason for it: he had seen that zebra from before go screaming into the forest at the sight of him; if zebras in this world were, most likely in accordance with the other equines, Soul Bearers as well, then it had no doubt raced back to the nearest civilization and warned everyone of his presence. And, if they were anything like humans, they sent their strongest to find and confront him...or the local dare-devils or sci-fi fanatics decided it would be a good idea to seek out the alien from the outside.

Either way, let them come.

Perhaps they would provide him with the answers he sought.

* * *

"Anypony else gittin' the feelin' we're bein' watched?" Applejack asked quietly, glancing about the room in nervous suspicion.

Twilight would've nodded in agreement, but had no need to; all six of them could feel the forboding feeling that they were not alone in the palace. The moment they had step into the palace they could feel it: a strange _presence_, like you knew someone or something alive was in the room but couldn't see it, no matter how hard you looked around. And in the middle of a dark, forbidden castle in the middle of a legend-demonized forest, it wasn't healthy for either their courage or sense of reality.

It also didn't help that it was a strong presence. Twilight could feel it; a..._power_...radiating through the air...a _very _strong power. It was comparable to the feeling she got whenever she was in the presence of Princess Celestia, or when she first came here and confronted Nightmare Moon; that feeling of sheer strength and power flowing from their bodies, making them seem even greater in might than they already were...but even the alicorns of the sun and the moon couldn't compare to _this_...

"Uhmm, Twilight?" Rarity whispered softly, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them. "I don't mean to pry or anything, but I was just wondering: what _do _you plan to do once we actually _find _this creature?"

"Yeah. What _do _we do?" Applejack asked in a hushed tone; the cyan mare was surprisingly walking on the ground instead of flying, no doubt thanks to her hidden nervousness. "Ah sure hope ya actually _have _a plan fer all this, or are we just chancin' it along?"

Twilight, however, wasn't sure herself. "Well, to be honest, I haven't planned that far ahead." She told them, much to their outrage. "Now don't start; I made sure we brought the elements so we actually have some sort of protection should things go sour...but, to be fair, we don't even know what this thing is, let alone why its here or what it wants."

"Who _cares _what it wants?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a hushed tone, frustration and aggression lacing her voice. "I say we just blast that thing back into space with the elements! Send it back to whatever wormhole it crawled out of!"

Twilight glared at the pegasus. "That's _unfair_, Rainbow!" She scolded softly. "For all we know, it could be just as scared and confused as we are! It could be a living person, trapped in an alien world and doesn't know how to get back home."

"_It's_ the alien, not us!" Rainbow Dash spat back, folding her forehooves across her chest. "That freak nearly destroyed our homes coming here. _For all we know_, it blasted us all on purpose and is planning to take over Equestria!"

"Maybe that's true or maybe not..." The purple mare continued, frowning at Rainbow Dash in disgust; what on earth had gotten into her? "But until we know for sure why its here, I'm _not _using my element against it."

The others did not like the sound of that. "_What_?! But we need all the elements to defeat it!" The cyan mare exclaimed.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? It could be just as much a victim as we are!" She argued back.

"And don't _you _remember how Zecora described it? I seriously doubt that a 'beast of flaming eyes' is a victim of any kind!"

"Just because it looks dangerous doesn't mean it is! Zecora was panicking and delusional; she let fear of the unknown cloud her judgement...just like _you _are!"

The indignant and fury-filled glare the cyan pegasus sent at the unicorn could've made a glacier burst into flames. "_You wanna say that to my face_?!" She just about screamed, flying down angrily at her.

"Now's not the time, girls!" Applejack called...unaware of the secret activation tile she had just stepped on; the trap door in the floor beneath the farm mare, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie suddenly opened with a clap of stone striking stone; the three ponies in question could only scream out in surprise and fear before plummeting into the darkness, their screams continuing out of hearing range.

"GIRLS!" Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight cried after them. With the rumbling of stone, the trap door snapped shut once again before any of them could try anything, effectively splitting the team in two.

The ever-effective method of Divide and Conquer.

"_Now _do you think this monster's 'just a victim'?!" Rainbow Dash screamed angrily as the echoes of the closing trap door sounded through the room.

Twilight faltered, her confidence and belief suddenly wavering. "T-That was one of the booby traps of the castle! This whole place was filled with them to keep intruders out!" She stammered, though she wasn't entire sure anymore; was the creature doing this, and if so, why?

"Girls...stop..." Fluttershy whimpered; no one heard it.

The rainbow-maned mare slammed a hoof onto the stone floor angrily. "No! I have it with your monster-loving shit!" She growled angrily, advancing on Twilight threateningly; Twilight's ears flattened timidly against her head as she back away step-for-step until she felt her rear bump against the wall. The pegasus was on the warpath, and she was standing in the way. "I don't care what you think! That thing _destroyed my town_, scared and nearly _killed my friends_, and now its tearing us apart and scattering us through the castle! Why are you so tartarus-bent on saving that damn thing?!"

"I...I just..." Twilight stammered, tears coming to her eyes.

Suddenly it felt as though the temperature in the room dropped; Rainbow Dash glare suddenly went so cold and hard Twilight felt as if she was sitting on a floor of ice. "..._You _did this, didn't you?" She murmured. "This...this is another one of your spells-gone-wrong, isn't it?! You _read _that book and caused that storm! You _summoned that monster! Didn't you?!"_

Twilight's blood ran cold, her eyes widening in dread. "I...I...I don't know!" She finally cried, eyes wrenching shut as she openly sobbed. "I-I was just reading the b-book's first page and t-then the storm happened! I-I don't know if it did or not! And I didn't mean to if it did! I-I-I'm sorry-he-heeee!"

Fluttershy whimpered. "Stop, Rainbow..._please_..." She tried to squeak out; in only came out in scared wheezing...though, deep within, a light had been lit in the darkness...

One could practically feel the rage building up in Rainbow Dash; her feathers and were fur bristling with anger, giving the impression that she was larger than she normally was. Her mouth was set in an angry snarl, and her rose-red eyes burned with an inner fire; Twilight saw, to her horror, that her eyes were actually changing in color, turning into a dangerous ruby-red...the same color of her glowing amulet. Her entire body suddenly began to glow with a fiery red light, as if spreading from her element, her eyes taking on a new kind of fire.

Loyalty's Wrath unleashed.

"I don't care! I just _don't! bucking! care!_" She finally roared, the glow of her eyes becoming even greater; Twilight whimpered, pressing herself harder against the wall. "Our friends are _in danger_ and our home is in ruins, all because of _your _stupid spell! _Again!_" The pegasus pressed her face close enough to Twilight's that their noses were touching each other. Twilight's eyes began to glimmer with tears...

"I put up with you stupid ideas and freaky magic long enough! You wanna endanger our lives just so you can have a 'friendship report' to send to the princess? Then, _buck you_, Twilight Sparkle!"

_"Buck! YOU!_"

The wall behind Twilight suddenly opened up; the unicorn suddenly found the support she was backing her entire weight against disappear, and with a terrified cry she tumbled back into the blackness. The last thing she saw was Rainbow Dash's surprised face before she plummeted screaming into the darkness below.

The wall slammed shut with a stony clap, leaving the silent two pegasi alone in the dark.

Rainbow Dash's rage, and glow, immediately vanished, leaving only horror.

"...T...Twilight...?"

* * *

The normally deathly stillness of The Palace Observatory was broken by a quiet screaming...which grew louder and louder until Twilight came shooting out from the chute in the wall, crashing into the stone floor painfully. This wasn't the first time this mare suddenly appeared into this room; if she were to look around, she would recognize it as the very same part of the castle that she first confronted Nightmare Moon...and felt the spark of friendship for the very first time.

Though now, all she felt was pain, sorrow, and guilt.

The tears continued to run down her face as she laid there, curled up into a ball, quietly sobbing into her forehooves, not caring where she was or what was happening at that moment. No one could really blame her if they saw her; as far as she knew, one of her only friends had turned on her and shattered their friendship. Fights like this were common in friendships, of course; no bonds, not even the strongest, were ever perfect, and they could heal with both time and mending between friends...but Twilight Sparkle, student of Celestia studying friendship itself, had yet to learn that. And Rainbow Dash was only the beginning; what would happen once the others found out?

It was Discord all over again.

Only this time, it was all _her _fault.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry...I'm s-so sorry...*hic!*...I d-didn't mean t-to, I-I-I swear...I di-...I didn't mean t-to hurt a-anyone..._I'm sorry_..." She whimpered, her words hitching in her throat.

But no comfort was to be found in the darkness of the castle.

She sniffed, wiping at her nose with her hoof, looking downwards. In front of her laid her saddlebag, tattered and covered in dirt; it had been torn off of her body as she fell down the chute, now damaged and ripped open, the contents spilled in front of her. The book that she had put so much faith into now laid before her, dirty and worn; what sense of mystery and importance it once held in her eyes was now long gone, and she saw it as what it had been all along: nothing more than a crude joke on her hope.

"I just...I w-wanted to believe..." She hiccuped as she lowered her hooves; the tears still ran down her face as she slowly forced herself up into a sitting position, she wiped at them with her hoof, still sobbing softly, looking down at the book before her. Part of her wanted to kick it away, and finally be rid of all of its stupid riddles and prophecies...but in that one moment, it was all she had. "...I...I just wanted to know why; I thought...I-I thought that there could be a deeper meaning to all this...t-that the book was telling me...that...t-there was something greater to our elements...to our friendship...than there already was."

She screwed her eyes shut, her tears running anew.

"I just..." She sobbed, trying to hide herself from the world. "...I just w-wanted to h-help."

_**"Ruz Ho Vis Gonah Naal Ofanvon Zey Faal Fahraldde Zu'u Yah."**_ (1)

Time itself seemed to stop around the unicorn's body when that voice thundered through her, banishing all sorrow and guilt from her mind and making her freeze where she lay. That voice...that _powerful _voice...it reminded her of a dormat volcano: possessing the immovable strength of a mountian and just as calm, but quite capable of becoming an eruption of fiery power should it be aggravated. The tone was strong and calm, just as the mountain its strength felt like, though it was a deep, almost animalistic growl, like that of a great beast, just waiting to grow into a great, fiery roar.

Then she felt it: that strong, power-filled presence from before; the same one she had felt when they first entered the ruins. The one that was comparable to those of Celestia and Nightmare Moon, only greater...but when she felt it then, it had been soft and distant, no more than a force far away. Now, it was like standing directly in front of a giant fire; the sheer power radiating from its form was blazing like the sun itself, and it was as if a great force was pushing down on Twilight from all sides...but mostly upon her horn; she could feel the power coursing through it, causing a deep 'hum' of sorts to vibrate through her skull. It was almost painful...and it was all originating from behind her.

For what felt like an eternity, Twilight didn't dare move or speak; she remained frozen on the spot, not daring to make any sort of movement. The only sound in the room other than the rapid beating of her heart in her ears was of deep breathing; the sound of enormous, powerful lungs pumping equally-large amounts of air in and out of a giant body. The deep, rumbling breaths reminded her of the red dragon that slept on the mountain, only not as large and loud, but just as strong.

Their was a shifting of great mass behind her, the floor shaking under the monster's feet, and then she felt something larger than herself looming over her; two powerful gusts of almost scalding-hot air blasted past each side of her head, blowing her mane forward. Twilight's heart was now pounding furiously in her ribcage, her breaths coming in quiet panicking gasps as she fought to keep from trembling; she could 'feel' it's snout hovering just over her, just inches away from touching her spine. She could feel it's breath against her neck, which was like the heat rising from a fire; it would've felt nice in the icy chill of the night...if Twilight wasn't trembling in pain.

The power from before had grown even stronger, and so did the force pushing on her body and vibrating in her horn. The feeling that she wasn't sure was pain certainly was now; it felt as if someone was driving a red-hot nail through her horn and into her skull, both of which were now visibly vibrating, the humming audible in her ears.

She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, whimpering in pain as fresh tears ran down her cheeks; so much power...too much..._too much_...

Then, as if sensing her agony, the creature pulled itself away from her, taking its energy and fiery breath with it; the pain lifted from Twilight's mind, but she didn't stop whimpering out of fear, trembling on the floor with her hooves covering her head.

What happened next felt was almost indescribable for the unicorn; the aura of power surrounding the being behind her briefly seemed to expand a bit before imploding onto itself. The sheer strength of the power flowing from the creature's body was suddenly absorbed and compressed into it, slowly draining out of the reality around them and disappearing within the creature altogether; the pressure on her body and humming in her horn vanished almost completely; the aura of strength still surrounded it, but it was still there, as if 'compressed' and stored away inside its owner.

Then it...or _he_, judging by the voice, spoke again, this time in perfect Equestrian:

"You can look, now; my power won't harm you anymore."

Twilight blinked as she stopped trembling, confusion making her frown; it's...no, his voice no longer carried that powerful, almost supernatural, power to it, just like it's body had. It still was deep, strong, and almost primal, but not overly so. It had become _mortal_...that was it: her curiosity and hunger for answers overcame her trepidation; no more hiding behind fear or guilt...she _needed _to know the truth.

So, gathering her courage, she did just as he commanded and, slowly and hesitantly, got up onto her hooves and slowly turned around, looking up to the creature from another world.

It was a moment she would never forget.

There, standing before her in all his might and glory, was the Dragon from the mysterious book.

Ever since she had made the connection of Zecora's description and the carving on the book's front, Twilight was expecting the 'monster with flaming eyes' to be a dragon, or at least something like it...but now that she saw him she knew that he was not a dragon of Equestria: he was unlike any dragon that she had _ever _seen before.

Standing on all fours, he stood two stories tall and was as long as Ponyville Town Hall was tall, his wingspan almost twice as long as that; his head alone was larger than a full grown stallion, and Twilight's head didn't even reach his elbow. He wasn't as large as the adult dragons she had seen before, but he was more than twice the size of a full grown chimera or manticore; a teenage dragon, or at least a young adult, perhaps. His long, lithe body structure was best described as a fusion between a canine/feline and saurian skeletal structures, walking upright on all fours with his long saurian tail held out for balance, and packed full of powerful saurian muscle and bone, not one ounce of fat or any faults of any kind on him. His hind-legs were almost twice the length of his forelegs and like those of a therapod dinosaur: powerful and muscular with the ankle joint and three toed feet, while his forelegs were almost human, with three fingered, one thumbed hands; the fingers and toes each ended in a long, curved claw, the foot claws being shorter, duller and used for running, while the longer hand claws were clearly for tearing flesh. His large, three-fingered, bat-like dragon wings jutted out from just above and behind his arms, with red leathery membrane soaked in orange around the edges, and claws tipping the three 'wing-fingers'; The hands of his wings had six fingers each, three wing fingers for the wings and two fingers and one thumb for the functional hands. His long, serpentine, dinosaur-like tail was incredibly long, measuring almost twice as long as the rest of his body, and ended in a large tail-blade made up of three large pyramid-shaped arrows of bone fused with each other, forming a large segmented blade with razor-sharp spikes at the bases and tip of the blade, making it even more lethal; his long serpentine neck was about a third the length of his tail, and held its head above his body in the saurian 'S-shape'. Its head and jaws were those of the typical dragon: saurian in shape, structure, and appearance, with flaring nostrils, webbed fin-like reptilian ears, and a short snout and jaws with sharp, knife-like teeth and a long forked tongue. He had two long, brown draconic horns jutting out the back of his head, curving down a bit and then curving back up near the tips, and a fin-like reptilian frill, with brown bones and orange webbing running through the middle of his head, beginning at his curved forehead ending halfway down the neck, the frill beginning a trail of brown dorsal spines with orange webbing running down its back to its tail arrow. Its entire body had tough yet smooth scaly skin, except for his back, which was rough, bumpy, and armored like a crocodile's, and was a dark royal-purple in color, with even darker purple, also black, markings and stripes covering and running down his spine and sides, and a golden chest and underbelly made up of large, overlapping belly-scales...but the most notable thing about him were his eyes: sharp, reptilian eyes with bright lavender irises soaked in yellow around the edges and snake-like silt pupils; in the dim light of the dark ruins, they seemed to glow with a mystic inner fire.

Twilight could only stare in awe, her previous fear replaced by amazement; the dragon showed no signs of aggression as he stood before her, looking down upon her as if she were but a child found running about his home. He stood before her in a classic saurian stance: on all fours, head held up above his body by his long neck, wings folded against his sides with their fingers trailing back, and his long tail held out for balance. The look in his eyes...they were not animalistic...nor were they sapient; it was like a fushion of both, ascended to a level of mind and body beyond anything any mortal race could ever achieve.

_This _was what she was expecting to find that day when she and her friends climbed the mountain to the red dragon's cave.

_This _was a _true _dragon.

"...you're _him_...aren't you?" She finally dared to whisper. The dragon cocked his head, silently questioning her. "The dragon of this book...it said, in a way, that you would come...who _are _you?"

The dragon stared down at her in perfect silence, other than its heavy animalistic breathing, before speaking once more in its mortal voice and tongue:

"I go by many names. In my native tongue, I am called JenDovahJoor...but in your tongue, I am known simply as Spyro."

* * *

**(1): **_**"Then you can start by giving me the answers I seek."**_


End file.
